HISTORY  OF 
THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGE 

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HISTORY   OF 

THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGE 

ROME,   ITALY 


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HISTORY  OF 
THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGE 

OF  THE 

ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 
ROME,    ITALY 

BY 
Rt.  Rev.  HENRY  A.  BRANN,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  '62 

Rector  of  St.  Agnes'  Church,  New  York  City 

Author  of  "  Curious  Questions,"  "Truth  and  Error,"   "The  Age  of 
Unreason"  "Martin  Luther,"  "Life  of  Archbishop 
Hughes"  "  Waif s  and  Strays" 


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New  York       Cincinnati       Chicago 

BENZIGER    BROTHERS 

PRINTERS  fa  "^e    \     I     \      VU»U9«SRSO^      ,'     , 
HOLY    APOS^OL/fc    ^ES    |   EBN;^ICÌE»'-S  MÀÒAZKfE  • 

,   "    \  a^io , ,",  • 


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iRibil  0l)0tat. 


Remy  Lafort, 

Censor  Librorutn. 


•ffmprimatur. 


4- JOHN  M.  FARLEY, 

Archbishop  of  New  York. 


New  York,  January  21,  1910. 


Copyright,  1910,  by  Rt.  Rev.   Henry  A.  Brann,  D.D. 


3n  ^^^ 


PREFACE 

"11  r  HEN  the  late  Archbishop  Corrigan,  two 
years  before  he  died,  gave  me  his  manu- 
scripts relating  to  the  American  College  in 
Rome,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  first  students, 
he  asked  me  to  write  its  history.  I  promised  to 
do  so,  and  I  did  write  it;  but  I  found  it  im- 
possible, until  now,  to  verify  statements  re- 
garding it.  Even  the  alumni  eye-witnesses  at 
the  opening  of  it  disagreed  in  their  accounts 
of  what  happened  on  the  occasion. 

In  spite  of  this  drawback,  perhaps  if  I  had 
as  few  scruples  as  the  average  historian  of  mod- 
ern times  in  regard  to  historical  accuracy,  this 
work  would  have  seen  the  light  sooner.  When 
I  entered  the  College  as  a  student  at  Genzano, 
in  October,  1860,  one  of  the  things  that  amused 
me  and  the  other  scholars  was  the  frequent  dis- 
agreement of  the  senior  students,  members  of 
the  "original  twelve"  who  entered  the  College 
in  Rome  on  December  8,  1859,  as  to  the  facts, 
personages,  and  incidents  of  that  important 


4  Preface 

event.  But  such  is  human  testimony  and  such 
is  history!  The  fear  of  making  a  mistake  or  a 
misstatement  made  me  delay  the  pubHcation  of 
this  book  over  eight  years.  Yet  I  expect  to 
find  some  one,  in  spite  of  my  care,  point  out  to 
me  an  inaccuracy  or  an  omission.  Well,  I 
must  be  satisfied.  I  have  blazed  the  way.  Let 
some  other  alumnus  follow,  and  make  perfect 
my  imperfections  of  style  or  matter. 

If  iMichael  A.  Corrigan,  D.D.,  Thomas  J. 
Gardner,  D.D.,  and  Daniel  O'Regan,  D.D., 
my  schoolmates  in  the  College,  were  living,  I 
should  have  the  benefit  of  their  learning  and 
good  taste,  which  have  never  been  excelled  in 
the  records  of  our  Alma  Mater.  To  their 
memory  I  dedicate  this  book  with  undying 
affection.^ 

Henry  A.  Brann,  D.D. 

St.  Agnes'  Rectory, 

New  York, 
November    12,    1909. 

*The  sincere  thanks  of  the  author  are  specially  due  to  the 
Rev.  Wm.  E.  Degnan,  D.D.,  one  of  the  cleverest  of  the  College 
alumni,  for  his  faithful  and  careful  reading  of  the  proofs, 
during  the  author's  absence   in  Rome. 


Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Henry  A.   Braxn,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

The  First  Priest  of  the  American  College, 

Rome,  Italy,  June  U,  1S6J 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface        ,,......         3 

INTRODUCTION 
Nationalism 9 


CHAPTER  I 
The  Idea  of  the  American  College  and  Its  Realization  23 

CHAPTER  II 
History  and  Description  of  the  Building         ,         .       68 

CHAPTER  III 

Description   of  the   College   Church,    Santa   Maria 

deir  UmUtà 76 

CHAPTER  IV 
Progress  of  the  College  since  Its  Foundation  .       86 

CHAPTER  V 
Part  I. — Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  in  Estramadura, 

Spain   .  .  .  .  .  •  •  .115 

Partii. — Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  in  Mexico  .      128 

CHAPTER  VI 
Threatened  Confiscation  of  the  College  Property     .      149 

5 


6  Contents 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  VII 
Life  in  the  American  College         .  .  .  .197 

A  Second  Chapter  on  Life  in  the  American  College     235 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Administration  of  Bishop  Kennedy         .  .  .     246 

CHAPTER  IX 
After  Fifty  Years 267 


APPENDIX 

Letter  from  the  Roman  Consul-General  to  the  Editor 
of  the  **  Freeman's  Journal  "  in  Regard  to  the 
Proposed  American  College  ....     399 

Miscellaneous  Notes.     By  Archbishop  Corrigan,  ^63      412 

Alma  Mater.  Letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Associ- 
ation in  Regard  to  the  Purchase  of  the  Property 
on  Piazza  della  Pilotta.  By  Archbishop  Corri- 
gan,  '63 426 

Circular  Letter  to  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops  of 
the  United  States  in  Regard  to  the  Endowment 
of  the  American  College         ....     435 

The  Devotion  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  the  College  .     441 

"Giornale  di  Roma '*  ......     444 


Contents 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College.     By  Rev.   Dr. 

Reuben  Parsons,  ^65         .  .  ,  .  .458 

Reminiscences,  1873-1875.     By  Rev.  M.  J.  Brennan, 

'75 488 

Musical  Reminiscences,  1878-1884.     By  Rev.  Thomas 

P.  McLougklin,  '84. 497 

In  Our  Times  ! 506 

Speech  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brann  at  the  Dinner  Given 

in  the  American  College,  Rome,  January  1,1910  519 


Officers  of  the  College 

.     525 

The  Alumni  Association 

.      528 

Necrology   ..... 

.      539 

List  of  Contributors 

.      540 

List  of  Students  .... 

.     547 

History  of  the  American 
College  in  Rome 

INTRODUCTION 

NATIONALISM 

TT^ROM  the  earliest  times  the  Cathohc  Church 
has  been  opposed  by  men  who  considered 
or  affected  to  consider  her  the  foe  of  national 
institutions,  national  laws  and  customs.  The 
occasion  of  this  opposition  is  found  in  the  very- 
nature  of  the  Church.  She  is  divine  and  cath- 
olic. Her  apostles  were  not  sent  to  conquer 
only  one  city,  but  all  nations.  Her  authority 
is  superior  in  origin,  purpose,  and  character  to 
political  authority,  and  is  not  limited  by  the 
bounds  of  any  nation.  She  is  a  society  estab- 
lished for  all  races  and  conditions  of  men.  She 
is  of  supernatural  origin,  and  has  a  super- 
natural purpose;  while  the  nation  is  merely  of 
the  natural,  local,  and  temporal  order.  The 
nation  lives  and  dies;  the  Church  lives  but 

9 


10  Introduction 

never  dies.  The  nation  is  mortal  ;  the  Church 
is  immortal.  The  nation  changes;  the  Church 
is  always  the  same. 

The  Church  is  superior  to  the  nation  in 
origin,  constitution,  and  laws.  Her  authority- 
is  immediately  from  God.  When  her  laws 
come  into  collision  with  the  laws  of  civil 
society,  these  cease  to  bind  in  conscience;  so 
teaches  her  founder,  the  God-man.  The  Cath- 
olic always  says  with  the  apostles:  "We  must 
obey  God  rather  than  men."  Yet  no  collision 
should  or  could  happen  if  civil  legislators  and 
rulers  always  recognized  and  followed  the  nat- 
ural and  the  divine  law,  for  the  Church  neces- 
sarily recognizes  and  will  never  violate  them. 
They  are  part  of  her  creed  and  code.  The 
natural  and  the  divine  law  are  crystallized  in 
the  Church,  and  direct  the  State  in  the  path 
which  it  should  follow  in  working  out  its  pur- 
pose— the  temporal  welfare  of  humanity.  The 
temporal  is  subordinate  to  the  eternal,  and 
hence,  although  the  nation  is  a  perfect  and  in- 
dependent society  whose  rights  are  respected 
and  sanctioned  by  the  Church,  yet  human  laws 


Nationalism  11 

should  be  subsidiary  and  ancillary  to  the 
Church,  whose  end  is  the  ultimate  and  super- 
natural happiness  of  mankind.  State  legis- 
lation never  should,  and  Church  legislation, 
because  divinely  guided,  never  will  oppose  the 
natural  or  the  divine  law. 

The  ideal  human  society,  therefore,  is  one 
in  which  the  civil  and  the  spiritual  orders  are 
friendly  partners,  working  together  for  the 
common  weal  ;  the  spiritual  teaching  and  guid- 
ing in  faith  and  morals,  while  the  civil  protects 
the  spiritual  in  the  accomplishment  of  all  its 
divine  functions,  and  promotes  at  the  same 
time  the  temporal  welfare  of  the  people.  Christ 
founded  only  one  Church  for  the  whole  human 
race,  commissioned  His  apostles  to  teach 
all  nations  the  same  truths — all  the  things 
which  He  had  commanded — and  appointed  one 
of  the  apostles  to  be  the  juridical  and  teaching 
head  of  this  Church,  so  that  its  catholicity  and 
identity  should  be  ever  preserved  by  its  unity. 

National  and  local  prejudices  were  among 
the  earliest  foes  of  Christ  and  His  Church. 
"Could  anything  good  come  out  of  Nazareth?" 


12  Introduction 

said  Nathaniel,  expressing  the  first  local  preju- 
dice against  Christ.  The  Greek  and  Roman 
did  not  like  the  Hebrew  race  and  creed  of  the 
Founder  of  the  Church  and  of  His  first 
apostles.  They  were  foreigners,  and  the 
Christian  religion  was  a  foreigner  in  Rome,  and 
the  creed  and  the  code  of  a  foreigner,  Christ. 
It  was  a  creed  that  menaced  the  despotic 
power  usurped  by  the  emperor  and  the  State, 
and  hence  the  emperor  and  the  State  hated  it. 
Christ  robbed  him  of  his  divinity,  dethroned 
the  God- State,  and  put  the  crucifix  above  the 
flag,  God  above  man.  Christianity  curbed  the 
political  ambitions  of  statesmen,  and  interfered 
with  the  business  of  many  citizens.  The  trade 
of  Demetrius,  the  silversmith,  who  made  the 
graven  images  of  the  gods,  was  not  the  only 
occupation  which  had  to  go  with  the  introduc- 
tion of  Christianity;  the  property  of  the 
Roman  slaveholders  was  in  danger.  Did  not 
Christians  recognize  the  ethical  equality  of 
mankind?  Was  not  the  slave  a  brother?  The 
rights  of  the  Roman  father  were  attacked. 
The  shackles  of  his  despotic  sway  were  stricken 


Nationalisììi  13 

from  the  limbs  of  his  wife  and  children  by  a 
new  religion  which  leveled  the  old  temples, 
broke  the  statues  of  the  gods,  overleaped  the 
barriers  of  national  and  local  hatred,  and 
united  all  men  into  one  brotherhood  under  the 
standard  of  the  Crucified.  The  learned  Athe- 
nian despised  a  creed  which  taught  that  the 
barbarous  Scythian  was  his  brother;  and  the 
proud  Roman  senator  hated  a  religion  which 
asserted  the  equality  of  the  German  and 
British  savage  with  the  blue  blood  of  the  Con- 
script Fathers.  The  Church  was  opposed  by 
pride  and  self-interest. 

The  conditions  of  life  and  thought  which 
gave  rise  in  the  beginning  to  what  I  call  na- 
tionalism, continued  after  the  conversion  and 
fall  of  the  empire.  It  was  hard  to  expel  from 
the  Roman  mind  the  idea  that  the  State  was 
not  supreme  and  the  emperor  not  divine  ;  hence 
the  emperor,  the  king,  the  State  interfered 
constantly  in  ecclesiastical  matters,  harassed 
popes  and  bishops,  and  usurped  the  office  of 
theologians.  Heresy  and  schism  were  the  con- 
sequence.   There  is  not  a  heresy  of  importance, 


14  Introduction 

from  Arianism  to  Protestantism,  in  which  na- 
tional politics  and  prejudices  have  not  played 
a  chief  part.  Roman  emperors,  from  Constan- 
tine  to  Romulus  Augustus,  wanted  to  be 
popes,  to  formulate  doctrines,  appoint  bishops, 
and  prescribe  Church  rubrics.  Through  the 
reigns  of  the  Henrj^s,  Othos,  and  Barbarossas 
of  Germany,  to  the  Philips  and  Louises  of 
France,  and  to  the  Edwards  and  Henrys  of 
England,  national  politics  and  politicians  have 
been  mixed  up  with  ecclesiastical  disturbances. 
They  envied  the  Church's  power  and  they 
coveted  the  Church's  money.  One  emperor, 
like  Leo  the  Isaurian,  interferes  with  the  wor- 
ship of  images;  while,  several  centuries  later, 
another,  Joseph  II  of  Austria,  tries  to  regulate 
the  ceremonies  of  the  Mass.  These  civil  rulers, 
as  well  as  many  of  the  German  emperors  and 
French  kings  of  the  Middle  Ages,  envying  the 
Church  her  power  and  wealth — justly  acquired 
and  held  as  the  patrimony  of  the  poor — tried 
to  usurp  the  one  and  steal  the  other.  The  spoli- 
ation of  the  Church  effected  by  Henry  VIII 
of  England  in  the  sixteenth  century  and  of 


Nationalism  15 

Victor  Emmanuel  of  Italy  in  our  own  times 
tells  what  nationalism  means  in  those  enlight- 
ened countries.  It  means  greed,  schism,  heresy, 
and  despotism.  Modern  as  well  as  ancient 
heresy  found  its  chief  support  in  political  in- 
trigue. "Gallicanism"  would  never  have 
thriven  but  for  the  vanity  and  cupidity  of 
French  kings,  aided  and  abetted  by  courtier 
prelates.  Protestantism  was  from  first  to  last 
propagated  by  greed,  lust,  and  political  plots, 
and  by  the  bayonets  of  Church  robbers.  Its 
most  conservative  form,  "Anglicanism,"  de- 
pends to  this  day  on  national  prejudice,  on  the 
possession  of  stolen  property,  and  on  the  pro- 
tection which  the  State,  claiming  to  be  the 
ruler,  as  it  is  the  creator,  of  the  national  church 
of  England,  gives  to  its  servile  creature  tied  to 
the  royal  throne  by  a  chain  of  gold. 

For  a  time  after  the  conversion  of  the  bar- 
barians, the  spirit  of  nationalism  was  held  in 
abeyance  by  the  preponderating  influence  of 
the  Papacy,  which,  always  striving  to  realize 
the  divine  ideal,  tried  to  weld  the  nations  into 
Catholic  unity.    The  Pope  for  a  time  stood  at 


16  Introduction 

the  head  of  a  European  confederation.  Yet 
even  in  the  palmiest  days  of  pontifical  power, 
frequent  attacks  were  made  on  the  catholicity 
of  the  Church  by  barons  and  kings,  empires 
and  republics.  These  attacks  had  their  origin 
chiefly  in  the  desire  to  steal  Church  property. 
The  Church  was  then  rich;  the  piety  and  the 
generosity  of  the  people  had  made  it  so.  The 
quarrel  about  investitures  was  caused  by 
simoniacal  attempts  to  confer  ecclesiastical 
benefices.  The  emperors  wanted  to  control 
clerical  appointments  because  there  was  money 
to  be  made  out  of  them.  Yet  in  spite  of  all  the 
turbulence  of  the  Middle  Ages,  the  spirit  of 
unity  and  catholicity  generally  prevailed,  and 
seldom  did  any  one  question  the  right  of  the 
Pope  to  the  headship  of  the  Church  and  of 
Christendom.  His  spiritual  supremacy  was 
unquestioned  even  all  through  the  great  schism 
of  the  West,  as  Creighton  and  Ranke  reluc- 
tantly admit.  Even  during  that  schism,  which 
originated  in  a  narrow  nationalism  and  local 
jealousies,  no  heresy  of  consequence  broke  out 
to  divide  the  faith  of  Christendom.    But  just 


Nationalism  17 

as  the  Greek  schism,  prompted  by  national 
jealousy  and  the  ambition  and  local  pride  of 
Photius  and  Michael  Cerularius,  paved  the  way 
for  modern  Greek  heresy  ;  so  did  the  schism  of 
the  West  prepare  the  way  for  the  national 
churches  of  Protestantism.  German  national 
pride,  with  the  ambition  and  the  cupidity  of 
the  robber  barons,  propagated  Protestantism 
throughout  Europe.  English  regal  concu- 
piscence and  cupidity  begot  the  Church  of 
England.  The  masses  of  the  people  were 
everywhere  driven  from  the  old  Church,  the 
Mother  of  the  poor,  into  the  new  State  insti- 
tution, and  they  have  been  kept  there  ever  since 
chiefly  by  the  politicians  who  control,  at  the 
same  time,  the  power  of  the  State  and  the  bene- 
fices of  the  Church,  and  send  the  poor  to  Eng- 
lish Protestant  institutions,  *'the  poor  houses." 
Nationalism  when  it  means  patriotism  is  a 
noble  sentiment,  but  it  becomes  odious  and  de- 
testable when  it  is  the  result  of  ambitious  greed 
and  pride.  Nationalism  in  this  form,  because 
it  is  a  usurper,  is  most  injurious  to  the  Cath- 
olic Church.    What  greater  foe  has  the  Church 


18  Introduction 

had  in  modern  times  than  the  national  church 
of  Russia?  This  church  is  the  most  perfect 
type  of  national  prejudice,  isolation,  exclusive- 
ness,  and  despotism.  Its  hatred  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church  is  manifested  not  only  by  bloody 
persecutions,  but  by  fines,  imprisonment,  and 
the  disfranchisement  of  those  who  have  the 
courage  to  follow  conscience  and  leave  it.  The 
absolute  Czar  is  the  modern  substitute  for  the 
pagan  ideal  of  the  State-God  as  represented  by 
Nero  and  Diocletian. 

Now,  no  one  knew  better  than  the  successor 
of  St.  Peter — always  supremely  intelligent, 
and  the  source  and  center  of  Christian  unity — 
the  evil  influence  of  nationalism  on  the  work 
and  faith  of  the  Church.  Hence  the  Pope  has 
always  condemned  nationalism  or  the  attempt 
to  put  the  flag  above  the  crucifix.  While 
Rome  recognizes  legitimate  patriotism,  she  is 
always  watchful  of  political  interference  in  the 
Sanctuary,  always  on  guard  against  attempts 
to  limit  the  truth  to  national  boundaries,  or  dis- 
tort it  by  national  prejudices  or  national 
vanity.      Hence   the   Roman   pontiffs   never 


Nationalism  19 

cease  to  teach  that  the  Truth  is  one  and  uni- 
versal ;  that  there  is  but  one,  holy,  catholic,  and 
apostolic  society  whose  supreme  ruler,  judge, 
and  teacher  is  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  successor 
of  St.  Peter,  and  vicar  of  Christ.  Thus  the 
Church  is  not  German,  French,  English,  Irish, 
or  American — but  catholic. 

To  preserve  the  unity  of  the  Church  against 
the  spirit  of  disunion  has  been  the  constant 
struggle  of  the  Holy  See.  Hence  the  Roman 
pontiffs  have  used  both  spiritual  and  temporal 
means  to  create  a  centripetal  force  in  every 
nation  to  counteract  the  centrifugal  force  of 
so-called  patriotism.  The  many  evidences  in 
Canon  Law  of  papal  interference  in  the  differ- 
ent nations  of  the  earth  were  not  due  to  the 
ambition  or  greed  of  the  Popes  (as  Protestant 
writers  falsely  assert)  ,but  to  the  zeal  of  Rome  to 
preserve  Christian  unity  and  to  build  up  fort- 
resses to  defend  this  unity  among  the  nations 
— fortresses  for  the  defence  of  Roman  faith, 
Roman  power,  and  Roman  rights,  because  they 
were  the  faith,  the  power,  and  the  rights  of 
Christ.    For  this  purpose,  also,  were  resident 


20  Introduction 

nuncios  and  delegates  of  the  Holy  See  ap- 
pointed. Their  influence  was  to  emphasize,  in 
the  different  nations,  Christ's  gift  of  authority 
and  of  jurisdiction  to  the  See  of  Peter  over  the 
whole  Church.  That  See  represents  the  World 
Religion  in  face  of  national  jealousy  and  sec- 
tarianism. The  sects  are  local,  national;  the 
Church  is  cosmopolitan,  catholic,  as  Jesus 
Christ  made  it. 

Among  other  means,  the  Popes  saw  that  a 
powerful  antidote  to  the  spirit  of  nationalism 
and  sect  would  be  to  educate  representatives 
of  the  different  nations  in  the  Pontifical  City. 
Hence  the  origin  of  the  national  colleges  in 
Rome.  They  are  the  logical  outcome  of  papal 
desire  for  Christian  unity.  In  these  colleges 
students  of  different  nations,  representing  the 
mosaic  of  the  Church's  catholicity,  receive  les- 
sons of  Roman  faith  and  loyalty,  which  they 
carry  home  and  propagate.  The  more  Roman 
the  nations  are,  the  more  Christian  they  be- 
come. Hence  all  the  great  nations  have  their 
representative  colleges  in  Rome.  While  the 
College  of  the  Propaganda,  founded  by  Urban 


Nationalism  21 

Vili,  is  for  all  races;  France,  Germany,  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  Ireland,  and  other  European 
nations  have  their  separate  colleges,  as  well  as 
South  America  and  the  United  States.  The 
North  American  College  is  therefore  onlj^  one 
of  the  centers  of  Catholic  unity,  one  of  the 
stars  that  shine  in  the  crown  of  Catholic  faith, 
piety,  and  scholarship  in  immortal  Rome.  The 
College  and  its  alumni  are  destined  to  be  a 
bulwark  against  the  spirit  of  disunion,  of 
heresy  and  schism  in  the  United  States.  This 
was  the  purpose  of  its  founder,  the  saintly 
Pius  IX;  this  the  aim  of  the  American  bishops 
who  co-operated  with  him  in  the  work;  and 
this  the  desire  of  all  its  alumni,  scattered 
through  our  great  country.  For  this  they  toil, 
and  for  this  they  will  strive  to  the  end  that 
there  may  be  but  one  Faith  and  one  Baptism, 
as  there  is  but  one  Lord,  the  God-man,  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Redeemer  and  Saviour  of  man- 
kind. 


CARDINAL    BARXAHO 

PREFECT    OF    THE    PROPAGANDA    AT    THE    OPENING    OF    THE 

A^IERICAN    COLLEGE 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  IDEA  OF  THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGE  AND  ITS 
REALIZATION 

jpius  IX,  as  the  universal  head  of  the  Church, 
very  probably  first  conceived  the  idea  of 
a  North  American  College  in  Rome.  But  as 
the  origin  of  an  idea  is  a  question  of  psychol- 
ogy, it  can  hardly  be  called  an  historical  ques- 
tion. The  author  simply  states  facts  as  he 
knows  them. 

The  establishment  of  an  ecclesiastical  college 
in  Rome  for  North  American  students  was,  for 
some  time  before  its  accomplishment,  a  cher- 
ished scheme  of  Archbishop  Kenrick  of  Balti- 
more and  Archbishop  Hughes  of  New  York, 
both  of  whom  were  the  most  zealous  supporters 
of  His  Holiness  Pope  Pius  IX  in  his  efforts 
toward  acquiring  the  institution  which  was 
destined  to  be  of  such  benefit,  not  only  to  those 
American  priests  who  have  the  advantage  of 
completing  their  studies  within  its  walls,  but, 

.  23 


24   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

through  them,  to  large  numbers  of  Catholics  in 
the  United  States. 

When,  at  the  invitation  of  the  last  King- 
Pontiif,  Pius  IX,  the  bishops  from  all  parts 
of  the  world  assembled  in  Rome  to  be  present 
at  the  solemn  definition  of  the  dogma  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
on  December  8,  1854,  many  of  the  American 
prelates  expressed  the  wish  that  their  country- 
should  be  represented  in  Rome  by  a  national 
college.  Among  the  prelates  from  the  United 
States  present  at  the  definition  were  Arch- 
bishop Kenrick  of  Baltimore,  Archbishop 
Hughes  of  New  York,  and  Bishop  O'Connor 
of  Pittsburg,  all  of  whom  took  a  keen  interest 
in  the  project.  In  the  year  1855,  the  Pope,  in 
his  reply  to  the  letter  of  the  archbishop  and 
bishops  composing  the  First  Provincial  Coun- 
cil of  New  York,  held  Oct.  1-8,  1854,  proposed 
establishing  an  American  College  in  Rome. 
Archbishop  Hughes,  who  now  saw  a  possibility 
of  fulfilling  his  long-cherished  desire,  immedi- 
ately wrote  to  the  other  archbishops  and  to  his 
suffragans,  extolhng  the  Pontiff's  noble  design 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       25 

and  asking  their  advice  as  to  the  best  methods 
of  putting  it  into  execution,  and  of  procuring 
the  means  necessary  to  support  the  institution 
when  its  establishment  should  be  finally  ef- 
fected. In  the  letter  of  the  Holy  Father  which 
is  dated  January  1,  1855,  we  read  the  follow- 
ing passage  : 

"Quo  vero  facilius  Vestrarum  Diocesium 
indigentiis  consulere,  et  navos  et  industrios 
operarios  habere  possitis,  qui  auxiliariam  Vobis 
in  Vinea  Domini  excolenda  operam  prsebeant, 
optamus  vehementer,  quemadmodum  nonnuUis 
e  vestro  ordine  hie  in  urbe  non  levi  animi  nostri 
gaudio  occasione  dogmaticas  Nostrse  Defini- 
tionis  de  Immaculatge  Deiparge  Conceptu  com- 
morantibus  jam  significavimus  ut  collatis  con- 
siliis,  consociatisque  viribus  proprium  vestr^ 
nationis  Clericorum  collegium  in  hac  ipsa  Alma 
Urbe  nostra  erigere  velitis.  Nam  pro  vestra 
sapientia  probe  noscitis  quantae  in  istas  Di- 
oceses ex  ejusmodi  institutione  utilitates  pos- 
sunt  redundare.  Hoc  enim  pacto  juvenes  a 
vobis  electi,  et  in  hanc  urbem  missi  in  spem 


26   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

religionis,  veluti  in  piantarlo  crescent,  qui 
pietate  bonisque  artibus  hie  imbuti  et  incorrup- 
tam  doetrinam  ex  ipso  fonte  haurientes,  ae 
ritus,  sanctissimasque  cseremonias  ex  Ecclesiae 
omnium  matris  et  magistrae  more,  institutisque 
addiscentes,  atque  optimis  disciplinis  exculti, 
cum  in  patriam  redierint  vel  parochi,  vel  con- 
cionatoris,  vel  praeceptoris  munus  rite  obire 
atque  exemplo  vitse,  populo  prselucere,  ru- 
demque  plebem  erudire,  et  errantes  ad  veritatis, 
et  justitise  semitas  reducere,  doctrinseque  prse- 
sidiis  insidiantium  hominum  fallacias  refellere 
et  insaniam  redarguere  poterunt.  Si  huie 
nostro  desiderio,  quod  spirituale  istarum  re- 
gionum  bonum  unice  spectat,  vos  obsecundare 
volueritis,  nos  certe,  quantum  in  nobis  erit, 
baud  omittemus,  Vos  omni  studio  juvare,  ut 
idem  Collegium  constituere  possitis." 

Translation  of  the  Above  Letter 

In  order  that  you  may  more  readily  supply 
the  needs  of  your  dioceses  and  obtain  active  and 
industrious  workers  to  aid  you  in  cultivating 
the  Vineyard  of  the  Lord,  it  is  our  urgent  wish 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       27 

(as  we  have  already  had  the  pleasure  of  telling 
some  of  your  prelates  who  were  in  the  city  on 
the  occasion  of  our  dogmatic  definition  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Mother  of 
God)  that,  by  planning  together  and  alhàng 
your  resources  you  should  erect  a  college  of 
your  own  for  the  clergy  of  your  nation  in  this 
Our  Holy  City.  For  you,  in  your  wisdom, 
must  well  know  what  great  advantages  are  to 
be  derived  by  your  dioceses  from  such  an  in- 
stitution. Thus  young  men,  chosen  by  you  and 
sent  to  this  city  for  religious  purposes,  grow 
up  as  rare  plants  in  a  conservatory;  here  they 
are  imbued  with  piety  and  virtuous  practices, 
drawing  their  doctrine  incorrupted  from  the 
very  fountain-head,  learning  also  the  rites  and 
most  sacred  ceremonies  according  to  the  usage 
and  established  practices  of  the  Church,  the 
Mother  and  Ruler  of  all  men,  and  being  edu- 
cated in  the  very  highest  subjects.  Then,  when 
they  return  to  their  own  country  to  act,  in  due 
course,  as  parish  priests,  preachers,  or  teachers, 
and  also  to  shine  resplendently  as  models  of 
right  living  to  the  people  and  to  teach  the  un- 


28   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

cultured,  they  will  be  able  to  bring  those  who 
are  going  astray  back  to  the  paths  of  truth  and 
justice  and  to  controvert  and  refute  the  falla- 
cies and  unsound  arguments  of  the  men  who 
are  plotting  against  the  strongholds  of  re- 
ligious doctrine.  If  you  wish  to  further  this 
desire  of  Ours,  which  has  for  its  object  only 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  your  country,  we 
certainly  shall  not  fail,  in  so  far  as  lies  in  our 
power,  to  give  you  every  possible  aid  in  estab- 
lishing this  College. 

In  the  Eighth  Provincial  Council  of  Balti- 
more, held  from  the  6th  to  the  16th  of  May, 
1855,  it  was  resolved  in  the  first  private  congre- 
gation to  appoint  a  committee  of  three  bishops 
to  report  on  the  subject  of  the  American  Col- 
lege in  Rome;  and  Bishops  O'Connor  of  Pitts- 
burg, Neumann  of  Philadelphia,  and  Dr. 
Lynch,  administrator  of  Charleston,  were  ap- 
pointed the  committee.  It  was  subsequently 
agreed  to  ask  the  Holy  Father  to  appoint 
three  bishops  as  a  committee;  that  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Baltimore  should  act  meanwhile  ;  and 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       29 

that  an  active  and  experienced  clergyman  be 
sent  to  Rome  to  attend  to  the  matter  and  make 
the  necessary  preparations.  The  eighth  decree 
runs  as  follows: 

"Probe  intelligentes  quantopere  religio  nos- 
tra sanctissima  in  hisce  regionibus  profecta  sit, 
si  Collegium  in  Alma  Urbe  sub  ipsa  Apos- 
tolicse  Sedis  umbra  instituatur,  in  quo  juvenes 
ad  sacrum  ministerium  in  provinciis  nostris  ex- 
ercendum  destinati;  ad  doctrinas  omnes  atque 
disciplinas  quse  Ecclesiasticum  usum  decent, 
informentur  ita  ut  digni  divini  verbi  ministri 
evadant;  statuerunt  Patres  ejusmodi  collegium 
omnino,  si  fieri  poterit,  sine  mora  esse  instituen- 
dum.  Insuper  rogaverunt  Rmum.  D.  Archiep. 
Baltimorensem,  cui  sententias  suas  de  meliori 
consilium  hoc  perficiendi  ratione  jam  aperuer- 
ant,  ut  eorum  hac  in  re  vices  tum  erga  S.  Sedem, 
tum  erga  cseteros  Americse  Foederatse  Archie- 
piscopos  et  Episcopos  gerere  dignetur." 

Translation  of  the  Above 

"With  a  clear  comprehension  of  the  extent 
to  which  our  most  holy  religion  in  this  country 


30   History  of  the  A  merican  College, Rome 

will  be  benefited  by  the  establishment  in  the 
Holy  City,  under  the  very  shadow  of  the 
Apostolic  Chair,  of  a  college  in  which  young 
men  destined  for  the  priesthood  in  our  prov- 
inces will  be  instructed  in  all  such  branches  of 
study  and  practices  as  are  suitable  for  the  uses 
of  the  Church,  so  that  they  may  go  forth  as 
worthy  ministers  of  the  Divine  Word;  the 
Fathers  decided  that  such  a  college  should  be 
established,  if  possible,  without  delay.  They, 
moreover,  asked  the  Most  Reverend  Arch- 
bishop of  Baltimore  (to  whom  they  had 
already  made  known  their  opinions  as  to  the 
weightier  reasons  for  carrying  out  this  plan), 
to  deign  to  place  their  several  views  of  the  mat- 
ter before  the  Holy  See  and  also  before  the 
other  archbishops  and  bishops  of  the  United 
States." 

In  reply  to  the  letter  of  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff, the  bishops  say: 

"Antequam  vero,  Beatissime  Pater,  huic 
epistolse  finem  imponamus,  non  possumus  nobis 
temperare,  quin  tibi  recentissimo  tuo  in  nos 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College        31 

gentemque  nostrani  collato  beneficio  agamus 
gratias,  quas  habemus  maximas.  Significasti 
enim  velie  te,  ut  in  Alma  Urbe,  apud  ipsam 
Petri  sedem,  tutissimamque  fidei  arcem,  Col- 
legium instituatur,  in  quo  alantur  juvenes, 
quorum  erit,  peracto  studiorum  curriculo, 
sacris  in  hac  regione  missionibus  operam 
dare;  idque  operis  paratum  te  ope  atque 
auctoritate  tua  promovere.  Hoc  scilicet, 
Beatissime  Pater,  tot  aliis  tantisque  benevo- 
lentia  indiciis,  quibus  paternum  tuum  in 
nos  animum  comprobasti,  quasi  cumulus 
accessit." 

Translation 

"Before  we  bring  this  letter  to  a  close.  Most 
Holy  Father,  we  can  not  refrain  from  express- 
ing our  gratitude  for  the  latest  benefit  that  you 
have  conferred  on  us  and  our  people.  You 
have  expressed  a  wish  to  have  established  in 
Rome,  before  the  very  throne  of  Peter,  the 
strongest  citadel  of  the  Faith,  a  college  where 
young  men  will  be  educated  and,  after  com- 
pleting their  course  of  studies,   will   devote 


32    History  of  the  American  College, Bovi  e 

their  services  to  the  sacred  missions  in  this 
country;  you  have  also  shown  that  you  are 
promoting  the  preparation  of  the  work  by  your 
support  and  authority.  This  then,  O  Holy 
Father,  is  added,  over  and  above,  to  the  many 
other  evidences  of  your  great  good  will 
whereb}^  3^ou  have  shown  your  paternal  feeling 
toward  us." 

In  his  reply,  August   9,   1855,   the  Holy 

Father  writes  : 

"Jam  vero  quod  attinet  ad  Collegium  in  hac 
Alma  Urbe  nostra  constituendum  pro  istius 
nationis  clericis  rite  educandis,  de  quo  verba 
f  acitis  in  iisdem  vestris  litteris,  noscatis  velimus 
per  nostras  litteras  Kallendis  Januarii  verten- 
tis  anni  datas,  nos  venerabilibus  Fratribus 
Joanni  Archiepiscopo  Neo-Eboracensi  e j usque 
suffraganeis  Episcopis  significasse,  vehe- 
menter  nos  optare  ut  istarum  regionum 
Sacrorum  Antistites  collatis  inter  se  consiliis, 
consociatisque  viribus,  ejusmodi  Collegium 
Romse  erigere  vellent.  Qu£e  sane  res  nobis 
gratissima  esset,  propterea  quod,  veluti  pro 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       33 

vestra  sapientia  probe  nostis,  ad  spirituale 
istorum  populorum  bonum  summopere  con- 
duceret.  Quocirca  nos  quidem,  quantum  in 
nobis  est  baud  omittemus  tarn  salutare  opus 
omni  studio  quam  libentissime  juvare,  cum 
idem  Collegium  vestris  aliorumque  vener- 
abilium  Fratrum  istarum  Provinciarum  An- 
tistitum  euris,  consiliis  et  sumptibus  in  hac  urbe 
esset  erigendum." 

Translation 

"With  reference  to  the  establishment  in  our 
Holy  City,  of  the  College  (concerning  which 
you  spoke  in  your  letter)  for  the  proper  educa- 
tion of  the  clergy  of  your  nation,  we  would 
have  you  know  that  in  our  letter  of  January  1 
of  the  present  year,  we  advised  our  Venerable 
Brothers,  John,  Archbishop  of  New  York  and 
his  suffragan  bishops,  that  we  earnestly  desire 
the  bishops  of  your  country  to  combine  their 
plans  and  resources  for  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing such  a  college  in  Rome.  This  pro  j  ect  is 
extremely  pleasing  to  us  because,  as  you,  in 
your  wisdom,  well  know,  it  makes  for  the  high- 


34   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

est  spiritual  good  of  your  people.  Wherefore, 
We  Ourselves  shall  do  most  willingly  and 
zealously  all  that  lies  in  Our  power  to  aid  so 
worthy  an  undertaking,  inasmuch  as  the  col- 
lege is  to  be  established  in  this  city  by  your 
efforts  and  plans  and  moneys  as  well  as 
those  of  your  brother  bishops  in  your  prov- 
inces." 

Cardinal  Barnabo,  Prefect  of  the  Propa- 
ganda, in  his  remarks  on  the  Eighth  Provincial 
Council,  writes  as  follows: 

"Decretum  VIII  approbatum  fuit.  Atta- 
men  quoad  deputationem  nonnullorum  Anti- 
stitum  qui  veluti  Commissarii  pro  Collegio 
existant,  aliaque  circa  Rectoris  electionem,  de 
quibus  in  Actis  Concilii  fit  mentio  (see  Coll. 
Lacensis,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  109)  responsionem 
S.  Congregatio  differendam  censuit.  Addam 
vero  mirum  evenisse  quod  non  eadem  concordia 
in  re  tam  opportuna  inter  aliarum  pro- 
vinciarum  Antistites  deprehensa  fuerit;  quod 
inde  potissimum  est  repetendum  quia  nonimlli 
Antistites  censerent  baud  posse  se  opus  ratione 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       35 

eadem  ac  alii  juvare,  vel  quod  alicubi  offen- 
sionem  aliquam  timerent.  Attamen  litteras 
nomine  Sanctitatis  Suae  eo  spectabant  ut  com- 
mendaretur  opus,  de  cu  jus  utilitate  nulla  ex- 
citari  controversio  potest.  Licet  vero  diversi- 
modo  Antistites  opem  conferant,  vel  per  se, 
vel  per  ditiores  fideles  ad  id  opportune  ex- 
citatos,  plus  nonnulli,  alii  minus,  uberius  for- 
sitan  progressu  temporis  ;  attamen  id  imprimis 
erat  in  votis,  ut  unanimi  voluntate,  collatisque 
consiliis,  omnes  ad  opus  perficiendum  conspir- 
arent.  Emi.  Patres  animadvertendum  id  vol- 
uerunt  ea  etiam  de  causa,  ut  Amplitude  Tua 
prsestare  melius  valeat  quod  Episcopi  Concilii 
Baltimorensis  statuerant  nimirum  ut  cum  aliis 
Archiepiscopis  ageres,  quatenus  in  Synodis 
suarum  Provinciarum  cum  felici  exitu  ea  de  re 
pertractarent.  Hand  vero  omitto  praedictarum 
litterum  sensum  explicare  Archiepiscopis  Cin- 
cinnatensi,  S.  Ludovici  et  Neo-Aurelianensi, 
quemadmodum  prsestiti  cum  Archiepiscopo 
Neo-Eboraceno,  qui  nuperrime  se  ad  hu- 
jusmodi  scopum  plura  praestiturum  spo- 
pondit." 


36   History  of  the  American  College,  Rome 

Translation 
"The  eighth  decree  was  approved.  Neverthe- 
less the  Sacred  Congregation  thought  well  to 
delay  its  reply  with  regard  to  the  appointment 
of  bishops  to  act  as  trustees  for  the  College  and 
also  with  regard  to  other  matters  pertaining 
to  the  election  of  a  rector,  concerning  which 
mention  is  made  in  the  records  of  the  council. 
I  may  add,  too,  that  it  is  surprising  that  the 
same  harmony  is  not  observed  among  the  bish- 
ops of  the  other  provinces  regarding  so  im- 
portant a  matter;  that  such  harmony  should 
exist  is  especially  desirable,  because  some  bish- 
ops think  that  they  cannot  aid  the  work  in 
the  same  way  as  others  or  because  they  fear 
opposition  in  certain  quarters.  However,  the 
letters  from  His  Holiness  showed  that  His  ap- 
proval was  bestowed  upon  the  work,  the  utility 
of  which  can  not  be  disputed.  Although  the 
prelates  might  support  the  work  in  different 
ways,  either  by  their  own  contributions,  or  by 
means  of  opportunely  interesting  the  more 
wealthy  among  the  faithful  in  it,  some  giving 
more,  others  giving  less,  but  perhaps  becoming 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       37 

more  liberal  as  time  goes  on,  it  was  the  chief 
wish  of  the  Holy  Father  that  all  should  with 
one  accord  unite  their  plans  and  act  in  harmony 
for  the  completion  of  the  undertaking.  The 
Most  Reverend  Fathers  wished  this  to  be  kept 
in  mind  also  in  order  that  Your  Grace  could 
carry  on  what  the  bishops  of  the  Council  of 
Baltimore  had  begun,  especially  in  order  that 
you  might  act  in  conjunction  with  the  other 
archbishops  in  so  far  as  they  have  successfully 
dealt  with  the  subject  in  the  synods  of  their 
own  provinces.  I  shall  not  fail  to  explain  the 
meaning  of  the  aforementioned  letters  to  the 
Archbishops  of  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  and  New 
Orleans,  as  I  did  in  the  case  of  the  Archbishop 
of  New  York,  who  has  very  recently  pledged 
himself  to  further  this  object  still  more." 

This  letter  of  Cardinal  Barnabo  was  written 
about  February  17,  1857,  as  appears  from  a 
marginal  note  in  the  Coll.  Lacensis,  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  155.  The  letter  of  Cardinal  Barnabo  to 
Archbishop  Hughes  (alluded  to  above)  is 
given  here  from  our  diocesan  archives  : 


38   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

"lUme.  et  Rme.  Domine:  Ex  Uteris  quas 
A.  Tua  ad  R.  D.  Bernardum  Smith  nuperrime 
scripsit,  quasque  ipse  S.  huic  Congni,  exhi- 
bendas  euravit,  intelleximus  id  quod  factum  est 
ut  votis  SSmi.  D.  N.  Pii  PP.  IX  responderes 
pro  erigendo  in  Urbe  Collegio  in  quo  clerici 
diocesium  omnium  in  Foederatis  Americse 
Septentrionalis  Statibus  existentium  instituer- 
entur.  Cum  porro  ex  prasdictis  Uteris  luculen- 
ter  appareat  pari  a  te  studio  ac  successu  in 
ejusmodi  negotio  cum  episcopis  omnibus  istius 
Provinciae  actum  esse,  S.  hoc  consilium,  atque 
Ipsa  Sanctitas  Sua  magnam  inde  laetitiam  ac- 
ceperunt.  Quae  enim  subsidia — (prgeter  sum- 
mam  30,000  scutatorum)  pro  perpetua  tri- 
ginta  alumnorum  substentatione  a  Te  imprimis 
atque  a  Suffrageneis  Episcopis  offeruntur,  ea 
profecto  sunt  ut  in  tuto  ponant  primordia 
operis  instituendi,  ex  quo  uberrimi  fructus  pro 
incremento  Catholics  Religionis  in  Septen- 
trionali  America  percipientur.  Quae  cum  ita 
sint,  alacrius  nunc  Apostolica  Sedes  ad  insti- 
tutum  de  quo  agitur  erigendum  operam  dabit, 
eoque  magis  quod  pro  certo  habeat  Antistitum 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       39 

coeterarum  Provinciarum  subsidium  in  tanto 
negotio  non  def  uturum.  Interim  vero  Ampli- 
tudo  Tua  libenter  accipiet  SSmo.  Domino  N. 
apprime  gratum  accidisse  quod  te  auctore  tam 
conspicuus  Pastorum  numerus  se  ad  S.  Sedis 
explenda  desideria  paratissimum  exhibuerit  ex 
quo  profecto  omnia  fausta  Americae  Septen- 
trionalis  Ecclesiis  expectare  licet,  cum  arctius 
eas  Prim^e  Sedis  charitatis  ac  devotionis  vin- 
culo consocientur.  Ceterum  et  ea  pariter  gra- 
tanter  intelleximus  quge  in  prsedictis  litteris  sig- 
nificasti, de  honore  videlicet  atque  auctoritate 
quam  nuper  Catholici  sunt  isthic  consecuti, 
deque  efficacia  atque  liberalitate  quibus  pia 
opera  ab  iisdem  promoventur.  Omnia  hsec  et 
nobilissimam  decent  nationem,  et  a  religione 
prsesertim  ac  zelo,  quo  tu,  Prassul  Amplissime, 
prgestas,  sunt  procul  dubio  repetenda.  Epum. 
Pittsburgensem  in  Urbem  quam  primum  ad- 
venturum  scio.  Cum  eo  de  CoUegii  negotio  S. 
hsec  Congtio.  libentissime  aget.  Deum  in- 
terim rogo  ut  te  diu  sospitem  incolumemque 
servet. 


40   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

"Rom^,  ex  Aed.  S.  C.  de  P.  Fide,  die  7  Jan- 
uarii,  1857. 
R.  D.  JoANNi  Hughes, 

Archiepo.  Neo  Eboraceno. 

Ad  officia  paratissimus, 
Al.  C.  Barnabo.     Prsef. 
Cajet.  Archiep.  Thebar.       a  Secretis." 

Translation  of  the  Aeove  Letter 

"We  learn  from  your  letter  to  the  Rev.  Ber- 
nard Smith  (which  he  has  seen  fit  to  show  to 
this  Sacred  Congregation) ,  that  you  are  in  ac- 
cord with  the  wishes  of  the  Holy  Father  Pius 
IX,  regarding  the  founding  in  Rome  of  a  col- 
lege in  which  the  clergy  of  all  the  dioceses  of 
the  United  States  may  be  educated.  As  it 
seems  very  evident  from  the  letter  just  men- 
tioned that  the  plan  will  be  carried  out  with 
zeal  and  success  by  you  acting  in  union  with 
all  the  other  bishops  of  your  province,  this 
Sacred  Council  and  likewise  His  Holiness  are 
very  much  gratified.  The  funds  (over  30,000 
scudi)  for  the  perpetual  maintenance  of  thirty 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       41 

students  are  contributed  by  you  especially  and 
by  your  suffragan  bishops  ;  this  is  done  so  as  to 
safeguard  the  first  essentials  for  the  establish- 
ment of  an  institution  from  which  most  abun- 
dant fruits  may  be  gathered  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Catholic  religion  in  North  America.  With 
this  much  accomplished,  the  Apostolic  See  will 
more  readily  aid  in  the  erection  of  the  institu- 
tion under  consideration,  the  more  so  because 
it  is  certain  that  the  support  of  the  bishops  of 
the  other  provinces  will  not  be  withheld  in  so 
important  an  undertaking.  In  the  meantime 
let  Your  Grace  rest  assured  that  His  Holiness 
is  particularly  gratified  at  the  fact  that  so 
many  bishops,  following  your  example,  have 
shown  themselves  most  ready  to  fulfil  the 
wishes  of  the  Holy  See  ;  wherefore  we  may  ex- 
pect the  most  favorable  results  for  the  churches 
of  North  America,  since  they  will  be  drawn 
together  as  with  a  bond  by  the  generosity  and 
good  will  of  the  Holy  See.  We  are  equally 
pleased  to  know  what  you  state  in  your  letter 
concerning  the  honor  and  authority  that  Cath- 
olics have  recently  acquired  in  your  country, 


42   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

and  also  regarding  the  efficiency  and  liberality 
with  which  they  encourage  pious  works.  All 
these  things  are  becoming  to  a  very  noble  peo- 
ple, and  should  undoubtedly  be  sought  by 
means  of  the  religion  and  zeal  for  which  you. 
Most  Reverend  Archbishop,  are  pre-eminent. 
I  know  that  the  Bishop  of  Pittsburg  will  come, 
as  soon  as  possible,  to  this  City.  This  Sacred 
Congregation  will  treat  with  him  most  gladly 
concerning  the  matter  of  the  College.  In  the 
meantime  may  God  preserve  you  safe  and  un- 
harmed for  many  years. 

"Rome,  College  of  the  Propaganda,  7th  of 
January,  1857. 

Al.  C.  Barnabo,  Prefect. 
Most  Rev.  John  Hughes, 

Archbishop  of  New  York." 

Bishop  Michael  O'Connor  went  to  Rome  in 
1857;  and  he  reported  to  the  Ninth  Provincial 
Council  of  Baltimore  on  May  8,  1858. 

Pope  Pius  IX  was  so  interested  in  the 
project  of  the  American  College  that  he  of- 
fered to  purchase  and  make  a  gift  of  a  suitable 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       43 

building,  while  the  American  bishops  were  to 
furnish  it,  and  procure  the  funds  necessary  to 
support  the  institution.  Accordingly,  in  1857, 
the  Holy  Father  bought  the  old  Visitation 
Convent  of  the  "Umiltà,"  then  occupied  by  the 
soldiers  of  the  French  garrison  in  Rome,  whose 
unwillingness  to  leave  their  comfortable  quar- 
ters caused  much  delay  in  securing  possession 
of  the  building.  But  success  finally  crowned 
the  efforts  of  the  Holy  Father,  who  paid  the 
sum  of  42,000  scudi  for  the  property,  and  gave 
the  free  use  of  it  in  perpetuity  to  the  American 
bishops.  The  Fathers  expressed  their  cordial 
acknowledgment  of  the  benevolence  of  His 
Holiness,  and  promised  to  take  up  a  general 
collection  as  soon  as  the  building  should  be 
placed  at  their  disposition. 

Their  letter  to  Pope  Pius  IX  contains  the 
following  passage  : 

"Ultimo  loco  quod  omittere  nefas  esset 
gratias  agimus  pro  maximo  Tuo  in  gentem  et 
Ecclesiam  nostram  beneficio,  cu  jus  notitia 
nuper  ad  nos  pervenit.     Intelleximus  quippe 


44   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Sanctitatem  Tuam  aedes  perquam  commodas 
adsignasse  in  usum  Collegii,  quod  propediem 
in  commodum  sacrarum  hujus  regionis  Mis- 
sionium  in  Alma  Urbe  constitueretur.  Pro 
hoc,  et  innumeris  prope  aliis  in  nos  a  Te  coUatis 
beneficiis  nos  usque  ad  extremum  vitse  spiritum 
eorumdem  memoriam  gratissimo  animo  serva- 
turos  profitemur."    (May  9,  1858.) 

Translation 

"As  a  final  word,  which  would  be  wrong  in- 
deed to  omit,  we  return  our  thanks  for  your 
very  great  act  of  beneficence  to  our  people, 
which  has  recently  come  to  our  knowledge. 
We  learn  that  Your  Holiness  has  given  very 
commodious  buildings  for  the  use  of  the  Col- 
lege which  is  soon  to  be  founded  in  the  Holy 
City  for  the  benefit  of  the  sacred  missions  of  this 
country.  On  account  of  this  and  innumerable 
other  favors  (almost  without  number),  which 
you  have  conferred  upon  us,  we  avow  that  we 
shall  preserve  the  memory  of  them  with  grate- 
ful hearts  unto  the  end  of  our  days." 

A  mural  tablet,  recording  the  gift  of  His 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       45 

Holiness,  was  erected  on  the  occasion  of  the 
inauguration  of  the  College: 


PROVIDENTIA 

D  .  N  .  PII  .  PONT  .  MAX 

AMPLIFICATORIS  .  CHRISTIANI  .  NOMINIS 

QUiE  .  DOMUS  .  ANTIQUA  .  FUERAT  .  VIRGINUM 

SALESIAN 

HANC  .  ALUMNIS  .  AMERICHE  .  BOREALIS 

FOEDARAT^ 

IN  .  ECCLESIA  .  SPEM  .  DOCTRINA  .  ET  .  PIETATE 

EXCOLENDIS 

AERE  .  SUO  .  COMPARAVIT  .  CONGREGATIO  .  FIDEI 

PROPAGANDiE 

TANTI  .  OPERIS  .  INSTITUTIONEM  .  COLLATA 

PECUNIA  .  JUVARE 

CATHOLICI  .  CUM  .  EPISCOPIS  .  AMERICHE 

AN  .  MDCCCLIX 


Translation 

^'Through  the  Providence  of  Pope  Pius  IX, 
the  Supreme  Pontiff,  the  glorious  propagator 
of  the  Christian  name,  the  Congregation  of  the 
Propagation  of  the  Faith,  in  the  year  1859, 
with  its  own  money,  and  with  the  pecuniary 
help  of  the  bishops  and  of  the  faithful  of 
America,  bought  this  house,  formerly  a  con- 
vent of  Salesian  Nuns,  to  be  a  school  for  train- 
ing in  learning   and   piety   students   of   the 


46   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

United  States  of  Xorth  America,  as  a  hope  of 
the  Church." 

The  building,  at  the  time  it  was  purchased, 
was  in  very  bad  condition,  and  bore  many- 
traces  of  its  mihtary  occupants,  who  had  shown 
but  slight  respect  for  the  former  dwelling  of 
the  Visitation  Nuns,  where  the  chanting  of  the 
Office  and  the  patter  of  feminine  feet  had  been 
replaced  by  the  sounds  of  coarse  songs  and  the 
clank  of  spurred  boots. 

On  December  12,  1858,  the  Archbishop  of 
New  York  ordered  a  general  collection  to  be 
taken  up  in  all  the  churches  of  his  diocese  to 
procure  funds  for  the  necessary  repairs  and 
furnishing  of  the  College.  The  people  were 
most  generous  on  this  occasion,  and  the  other 
American  archbishops  co-operated  so  liberally 
that  in  a  short  time  the  sum  of  nearly  $50,000 
was  contributed,  and  applied  to  the  needs  of 
the  building,  and  with  such  good  results  that, 
in  the  year  following,  it  was  fit  for  occupancy. 

On  December  7,  1859,  the  College  was 
formally  opened  with  twelve  students,  who  had 
been  for  some  time  waiting  for  the  event  in  the 


REV.     DR.     BERNARD    SMITH,     O.  S.  B. , 
FIRST    PRO-RECTOR    OF    THE    COLLEGE 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       47 

College  of  the  Propaganda.  In  the  accom- 
panying picture,  we  give  the  portraits  of  these 
students,  among  whom  will  be  recognized  the 
late  Archbishop  of  New  York,  Mgr.  Cor- 
rigan,  the  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco, 
Mgr.  Riordan,  Mgr.  Seton,  Father  Northrop 
of  Charleston,  Father  Poole  of  Staten  Island, 
Dr.  Reuben  Parsons,  and  Father  Meri- 
wether, S.J.  Although  Dr.  Edward  Mc- 
Glynn's  face  is  pictured,  he  was  never  properly 
a  student  of  the  American  College.^  He  was 
merely  sent  over  from  the  College  of  the 
Propaganda  on  account  of  his  experience  and 
knowledge  of  Italian,  temporarily  to  act  as 
Prefect,  and  to  assist  the  Pro-Rector,  Rev. 
Bernard  Smith,  O.S.B. 

On  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
the  patronal  feast  of  the  United  States,  Cardi- 
nal Barnabo,  Prefect  of  Propaganda,  delivered 
an  address  at  the  Mass  said  by  the  Bishop  of 
Guatemala.  Monsignor  Bedini,  the  Secretary 
of  the   Sacred  Congregation  of  the  Propa- 

*Some  of  the  students  in  the  group,  viz.:  Gibney,  Clifford, 
Seton,  and  Riordan  left  the  College  before  ordination  and  can 
not  therefore  be  properly  counted  among  its  alumni. 


48   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

ganda,  consecrated  the  marble  altar  in  the  Col- 
lege chapel,  and  on  the  12th  of  the  same  month, 
the  feast  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  to  whom 
one  of  the  side  altars  is  dedicated,  he  cele- 
brated Pontifical  Mass  in  the  College  Church. 
The  most  important  event  in  relation  to  the 
opening  of  the  College  was  the  visit  of  Pope 
Pius  IX,  on  the  feast  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales, 
January  29, 1860,  which  is  recorded  on  a  tablet 
in  the  College  bearing  the  following  inscrip- 
tion: 

IV  .  KAL  .   FEBR  .  AN  .  MDCCCLX 

FESTO  .  DIE  .  FRANCISCI  .  SALESII 

PIUS  .  IX  .  PONT  .  MAX 

PARENS  .  ET  .  AUCTOR  .  COLLEGII  .  AMERICAE 

BOREALIS  .  FOEDER 

SACRIS  .  OPERATUS  .  IN  AEDE  .  N 

ALUMNOS  .  DAPE  .  COELESTI  .  PAVIT 

DOMUM  .  PROPITIUS  .  INVISIT 

OMNES  .  ADMISSIONE  .  ET  .  ADLOQUIO  .  DIG- 

NATUS  .  EST 

This  inscription  translated,  reads: 

"On  January  29,  1860,  the  feast  of  St. 
Francis  de  Sales,  Pius  IX,  the  Supreme  Pon- 
tiff, Father  and  Founder  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can College,  said  Mass  in  this  building,  fed  the 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       49 

alumni  with  the  Heavenly  Banquet,  visited  the 
College,  and  deigned  to  give  audience  to  all." 
This  was  a  day  ever  to  be  remembered  by 
the  students  and  all  those  who  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  being  present.  His  Hohness  celebrated 
Mass,  assisted  by  Monsignor  Bacon  of  Port- 
land, Maine,  and  Monsignor  Goss  of  Liver- 
pool, and  administered  holy  communion  to  the 
students.  After  hearing  the  Mass  of  Thanks- 
giving, with  his  attendants  and  all  the  illus- 
trious persons  present,  he  entered  the  College 
and  presided  at  the  breakfast  prepared  in  his 
honor.  A  most  pleasing  account  of  the  events 
of  the  memorable  day  is  given  by  the  Church 
historian  Rev.  Reuben  Parsons,  D.D.,  one  of 
the  first  twelve  students;  we  print  his  own 
words,  as  they  are  the  reminiscences  of  a  par- 
taker in  the  imposing  ceremonies  which 
marked  the  opening  of  the  College: 

"I  can  state  that  the  American  College  in 
Rome  was  in  one  sense  opened  on  the  eve  of 
the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  (Dec. 
7,  1859),  when  the  ^original  thirteen'  wended 


50   History  of  the  American  College  Jiome 

their  way  from  the  Urban  College  to  take  up 
their  residence  in  their  future  Alma  Mater. 
The  ceremony  of  'opening'  consisted  of  Solemn 
Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  pre- 
ceded by  an  address  by  Cardinal  Barnabo — an 
impressive  discourse.  Such  was  the  thought 
that  occupied  our  young  minds  as  we  *recre- 
ated'  through  the  building  on  the  evening 
previous  to  the  real  opening  of  the  institution, 
which  occurred  on  the  morning  of  Dec.  8. 
The  ]\Iass  on  this  occasion  was  celebrated  by 
the  Bishop  of  Guatemala — quite  appropri- 
ately, as  he  was  a  representative  of  the  race 
which  had  been  so  blessed  by  the  Lady  of 
Guadalupe,  whose  picture  we  were  so  often  to 
venerate  in  our  beautiful  little  church.  The 
next  festivity  connected  in  reality  with  the 
opening  of  the  College  was  the  visit  paid  to  us 
by  Pius  IX  on  the  morning  of  Jan.  29,  1860, 
the  feast  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales.  His  Holi- 
ness arrived  at  eight  o'clock;  he  celebrated 
Mass,  assisted  by  Mgr.  Bacon  and  by  Mgr. 
Goss  ;  and  he  administered  holy  communion  to 
all  of  us  students,  to  the  American  students  of 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       51 

the  Propaganda,  and  to  many  American  and 
English  seculars  then  resident  in  the  Eternal 
City.  After  the  Pontiff  had  assisted  at  the 
Mass  of  Thanksgiving,  he  repaired  to  the  Gran 
Sala  of  the  College,  where  preparations  for  a 
grand  banquet  (made  resplendent  by  a  lot  of 
massive  plate  from  the  Vatican)  had  been 
made.  His  Holiness  sat,  according  to  eti- 
quette, at  a  raised  table  by  himself.  Along  the 
sides  of  the  hall  were  seated  a  number  of 
Roman  patricians  of  both  sexes,  together  with 
General,  the  Comte  de  Guyon,  commander  of 
the  French  garrison  ;  Mr.  Stockton,  the  Ameri- 
can Minister;  the  Marquis  Antici,  Senator  of 
Rome  ;  and  other  notable  individuals.  We  boys 
of  the  oi  polloi  stood  along  the  walls,  behind 
our  guests  ;  of  course  we  found  some  difficulty 
in  managing  our  victuals,  but  the  predicament 
had  its  compensation  in  the  fact  that  the  good 
things  were  brought  to  us,  in  most  cases,  by 
the  gorgeous  Noble  Guards  of  the  Pontiff. 
After  the  inner  man  had  been  refreshed.  Bish- 
op Bacon  addressed  His  Holiness  in  French, 
thanking  him,  in  the  name  of  the  Americao 


52   History  of  the  American  College.Eome 

episcopate,  for  his  gift  of  the  new  institution 
to  the  American  Church;  and  I  can  well  re- 
member how  the  enthusiastic  prelate's  pedal 
gyrations,  accentuating  his  delivery,  once 
caused  him  to  plunge  into  the  skirts  of  the 
Princess  Borghese  (I  think  that  she  was  the 
victim  of  his  eloquence),  to  the  great  amuse- 
ment of  the  Pontiff.  The  reply  of  the  Pope 
to  this  address  was,  like  every  public  utterance 
of  Pius  IX,  heart-touching,  although  evi- 
dently well-weighed  ;  and  it  was  remarkable  in- 
asmuch as  this  was  the  first  occasion  on  which 
he  publicly  spoke  of  the  imminent  onslaught 
of  the  Masonic  Revolution.  Concluding  his 
address,  His  Holiness  said:  'We  do  not  fear 
armies  or  any  other  forces  of  earthly  power. 
The  greatest  of  our  afflictions  is  not  produced 
by  an  imminent  loss  of  our  temporal  dominion. 
Let  the  guilty  ones  suffer  the  censures  of  the 
Church,  and  let  them  be  abandoned  to  the 
punishments  of  God,  if  they  do  not  recur  to 
His  mercy.  We  are  pained  and  frightened  by 
the  present  perversion  of  ideas.  We  see  vice 
taken  for  virtue,  and  virtue  represented  as 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       53 

vice.  In  certain  cities  of  our  poor  Italy  we 
see  men  effecting  the  apotheosis  of  an  assassin 
(Agesilao  Milano)  ;  and  while  the  most  wicked 
men  and  deeds  are  prodigally  applauded,  con- 
stancy in  faith  and  episcopal  firmness  are  stig- 
matized as  hypocrisy,  fanaticism,  and  abuse  of 
religion.'  More  than  one  of  us  swore  that 
morning  that  they  would  ever  be  faithful  to 
the  cause  of  the  Pope-King.  The  next  meet- 
ing of  Pius  IX  with  our  students  as  a  body 
occurred  in  the  spring  of  1860,  but  I  have  for- 
gotten the  date,  and  many  years  ago  I  lost  the 
diary  which  I  had  kept  during  my  college  days. 
However,  the  particulars  of  that  audience  are 
indelibly  recorded  in  my  memory.  Dr.  Smith, 
O.S.B.,  our  Pro-Rector,  had  been  requested  to 
take  us  to  the  Vatican;  His  Holiness  had  ex- 
pressed a  wish  to  talk  with  us  at  his  ease — in 
fine,  as  the  good  Benedictine  said  'non  fecit 
taliter  omni  nationi.'  After  the  usual  formal 
reception  of  his  young  visitors,  the  Pontiff 
turned  with  a  sweet  smile  (and  when  was  that 
smile  not  sweet?)  to  Mgr.  Borromeo  and  Mgr. 
de  Mérode,  and  said  that  he  would  like  to  show 


54   History  of  the  American  College, 'Rome 

the  Americans  around  the  Vatican.  I  well  re- 
member our  surprise;  we  had  never  heard  of 
such  a  proceeding  on  the  part  of  a  Pope.  But 
we  took  the  thing  quite  naturally;  and  when 
His  Holiness  had  donned  his  cloak  and  his 
shovel-hat,  off  we  started  after  our  exalted 
cicerone.  All  through  the  great  palace  the 
Father  of  the  Faithful  led  us,  explaining 
everything;  but  I  doubt  very  much  whether 
any  of  us  profited  much  by  the  pontifical  eluci- 
dations, so  entranced  were  we  by  the  novelty 
of  the  situation.  It  was  while  we  were  in  the 
Vatican  Museum  that  His  Holiness  suddenly 
said  that  he  would  like  one  of  us  to  make  him 
a  little  address  ;  but  he  declared  that  he  was  so 
used  to  compliments  that  he  would  be  pleased 
if  the  speech  were  couched  in  English,  a  lan- 
guage with  which  he  was  not  familiar.  As  he 
spoke,  the  Pope  looked  at  young  Clifford,  but 
the  lad  ran  behind  a  companion,  and  escaped 
the  ordeal.  Then  the  Pontiff's  eye  fell  on 
Seton;  but  that  usually  enterprising  person 
showed  signs  of  distress.  Finally  the  pontifical 
quest  seemed  to  be  satisfied  with  poor  me. 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       55 

*Voi/  cried  the  Pope;  Voi  avete  la  faccia 
franca;  dunque  parlatemi  voil'  Forward  I 
stepped;  what  I  said,  I  know  not  now,  and  I 
knew  not  then.  Had  I  been  talking  in  Italian 
or  in  Latin,  or  in  any  tongue  that  Pius  IX  un- 
derstood, I  might  have  done  the  task  suffi- 
ciently well;  but  the  circumstances  were  such 
a  mixture  of  the  sublime  and  the  absurd,  that 
I  was  glad  when  the  Pope  said  that  he  had 
heard  enough.  I  only  remember,  concerning 
the  details  of  the  speech,  that  the  Pontiff  con- 
tinually interrupted  me  with  repetitions  of  cer- 
tain words,  saying  'I  understand  that,'  or  *that 

means   ,'   etc.    Well,   when  we   had   all 

saluted  the  Pope  by  giving  him  three  cheers 
(American  cheers  in  the  Vatican!  but  at  his 
command,  remember!)  we  noticed  that  ser- 
vants were  moving  around  a  table  at  the  end  of 
the  hall,  and  as  we  neared  it  we  perceived  that 
refreshments  were  being  set  out.  The  chief 
feature  of  the  treat  was  punch — yes,  perhaps 
made  with  the  Italian  substitute  for  whisky, 
but  still  hot  punch,  although  the  Pope  termed 
it  'hot  lemonade.'    Pio  Nono  took  but  one  little 


56   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

sip  of  the  fluid,  and  then  the  pontifical  glass 
was  emptied  by  that  old  soldier,  JNIgr.  de 
Mérode.  Such  are  my  recollections  of  what 
was  to  be  regarded  by  me  as  unique,  as  it  cer- 
tainly was  probably  the  most  interesting  of  the 
purely  human  experiences  of  my  life.  And  was 
it  'purely  human'  ?  For  nearly  three  hours  we 
had  talked — aye — chatted  with  the  Pope,  and 
that  Pope  was  the  incomparable  Pio  Nonol"^ 

NOTES  WRITTEN  ON  THE  OPENING  OF  THE  COL- 
LEGE BY  PROBABLY  THE  PRESENT  ARCH- 
BISHOP RI0RDAN2 

"I  do  not  remember  that  anj^thing  took 
place  on  December  7.  Nor  do  I  remember  any 
address  by  Cardinal  Barnabo. 

"On  the  8th,  Mgr.  Bedini  (afterward  Cardi- 

*The  writer  of  this  account,  Rev.  Reuben  Parsons,  D.D., 
was  one  of  the  brightest  of  the  early  students  of  the  College. 
He  was  for  a  time  in  1860  the  prefect  of  the  first  camerata. 
On  the  mission  in  New  York  his  health  soon  failed,  so  that, 
unfit  for  hard  work,  he  became  the  chaplain  of  St.  Joseph's 
Hospital,  Yonkers,  N.  Y.,  where  he  died.  But  although  always 
in  poor  health  he  devoted  himself  to  literature  and  is  well 
known  for  his  learned  essays  in  Church  history,  published  in 
several  volumes,  by  Pustet,  New  York,  in  1900. 

^There  is  no  name  signed  to  this  statement. 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       57 

nal),  then  Secretary  of  the  Propaganda,  sang 
the  Pontifical  Mass,  at  which  we  were  the 
servers.  The  choir  of  the  Propaganda  did  the 
singing.  We  had  the  usual  feast-day  dinner. 
In  the  afternoon,  at  walk  time,  the  Americans 
of  the  Propaganda  made  us  a  visit.  After 
supper,  we  went,  by  invitation  of  the  Holy 
Father,  to  visit  him;  Mgr.  Bedini  presented  us. 
We  were  received  in  the  private  library  of  the 
Pope.  He  spoke  to  us  for  quite  a  time.  He 
gave  each  of  us  a  brass  medal,  a  copy  of  the 
one  struck  December  8,  1854,  saying  he  was 
too  poor  to  give  us  silver  ones.  He  also  gave 
us  a  lace  picture,  and  a  short  devotion  in  honor 
of  the  Passion,  composed  by  St.  Pius  V  ;  I  have 
the  three  gifts  yet. 

"The  Holy  Father  visited  the  College  on 
St.  Francis  de  Sales'  day  in  1860.  He  said 
Mass  in  the  church,  and  left  us  the  chalice  used 
at  the  Mass.  After  Mass,  the  Holy  Father 
held  a  reception  in  the  large  hall  before  the 
library.  Bishop  Bacon  made  the  address.  We 
all  had  four  or  five  lines  of  Latin  verse  to  re- 
cite ;  Prof.  Conti  was  the    composer.     I  did 


58   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

not  recite  my  verses,  as  the  Holy  Father  said 
*Basta'  when  I  was  about  to  begin,  for  which 
I  was  truly  grateful.  He  then  made  an  address 
which  caused  a  stir  in  Rome.  He  referred  to 
the  troubles  of  the  country,  and  though  he  did 
not  mention  by  name  the  King  or  Garibaldi, 
still  it  was  believed  he  meant  them.  Fr.  ]\Ic- 
Laughlin,^  an  Irish  Franciscan,  and  chaplain — 
noted  for  his  memory — wrote  out  the  address, 
and  it  was  published  in  the  *  Giornale  di  Roma.' 
The  candles  used  on  the  Holy  Father's  table 
were  taken  by  JNIgr.  Redini,  who  had  them 
painted,  and  then  blessed  by  the  Holy  Father 
on  the  following  Candlemas  Day.  He  gave 
one  to  each  of  us  ;  I  have  mine  yet.  After  re- 
freshments were  seized  the  Holy  Father  went 
across  the  street  to  visit  the  nuns.  We  were 
allowed  to  go  with  him.  In  the  afternoon  of 
Candlemas  Day  following,  we  went  to  return 
the  visit  of  the  Holy  Father.  He  received  us 
as  he  was  going  on  his  walk.    As  it  was  raining 

HVhen  I  was  going  to  the  College  as  a  student  in  1860  I 
met  Fr.  McLaughlin  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  in  the  Church  of 
the  Annunciation  at  Genoa.  It  was  in  October.  He  was  chap- 
lain of  the  Irish  Brigade. 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       59 

at  the  time,  he  took  his  walk  through  some  of 
the  galleries  of  the  Vatican.  I  remember  he 
took  us  through  Cardinal  Mai's  library,  also 
through  the  Egyptian  Museum.  We  arrived 
at  the  Christian  Museum  at  the  end  of  the 
walk,  and  found  the  servants  ready  with  hot 
lemonade  for  us.  Here,  perhaps,  it  was  that 
the  Holy  Father  asked  Dr.  Parsons  or  Mr. 
Clifford  to  speak.  I  remember  he  spoke  of  his 
visit  to  the  College,  and  pointed  to  some  of  us 
as  the  *Speakation.'  Dr.  Smith  was  with  us  on 
this  visit.  We  spent  most  of  the  afternoon 
with  the  Holy  Father. 

*'I  forgot  to  mention  that  the  two  little 
daughters  of  Mr.  Fisher  of  Fort  Washington' 
made  their  first  communion  at  the  Mass  said 
by  the  Holy  Father  on  his  visit  to  the  Col- 
lege, January  29,  1860. 

"I  do  not  remember  anything  more  in  re- 
gard to  what  had  happened  at  the  opening  of 
the  College,  or  what  took  place  during  the  first 
months  following." 

^At  New  York  City.  Those  two  daughters  afterward  donated 
the  altar  in  the  Church  of  St.  Elizabeth,  Fort  Washington. 
Their  father  donated  the  ground  on  which  the  church  stands. 


60   History  of  the  American  College^Rome 

TRANSLATION  OF  AN  ARTICLE  WHICH  APPEARED 

IN  THE  "giornale  DI  ROMa"  ON  MONDAY, 

DECEMBER   12,   1859 

"Among  the  many  imperishable  monuments 
which  attest  the  provident  care  of  the  reigning 
Supreme  Pontiff  for  the  good  of  the  Catholic 
religion,  and  bear  witness  to  his  inexhaustible 
munificence,  the  new  College  in  Rome  for 
Americans  of  the  United  States  will  occupy 
henceforth  a  foremost  place.  The  College  was 
inaugurated  on  the  7th  of  the  current  month. 

"This  College  is  a  sequel  to  the  other  noble 
institutions  of  a  similar  character  which  have 
been  created  and  named  by  Pius  IX,  as,  for 
instance,  the  College  specially  founded  for 
English  converts,  another  for  the  dioceses  of 
South  America,  and  another  for  youths  of  the 
different  dioceses  of  the  pontifical  states  who 
distinguish  themselves  most  in  undertaking  the 
ecclesiastical  career.  This  is  a  glorious  series 
of  magnificent  and  holy  institutions  which  de- 
serve to  be  ranked  for  splendor  and  merit 
among  those  of  the  Gregories,  of  the  Urbans, 
and  of  the  Innocents. 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       61 

"The  different  States  of  distant  North 
America  had  long  felt  the  desire  of  educating 
at  least  a  part  of  their  young  priests  under  the 
shadow  of  the  Vatican,  so  as  better  to  insure 
the  union  of  their  young  Church  with  this 
center  of  unity  and  of  faith  at  a  time  when 
their  Church  is  making  gigantic  strides  among 
a  people  famous  for  energy  of  will  and  for  con- 
tinuity of  progress. 

"The  reigning  Supreme  Pontiff  wished  to 
see  realized  the  will  of  American  Catholics, 
and  at  the  same  time,  a  sublime  conception  of 
his  own  mind.  Having  acquired  as  property 
of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  the  Propa- 
ganda the  vast  building  and  grounds  of  the 
'Umiltà,'  situated  near  the  Quirinal,  and  for- 
merly used  as  a  monastery  by  the  Salesian 
Sisters  (Visitation  Nuns),  he  accommodated 
the  building  to  the  use  of  the  new  American 
College.  With  this  holy  undertaking  the 
American  Catholics  were  prompt  to  concur, 
responding  generously  to  the  impulse  of  their 
bishops  ;  and  from  what  has  been  done  we  can 
judge  how  great  must  be  the  satisfaction  of 


62   History  of  theAvierican  College, Roine 

the  Common  Father  with  the  accomplishment 
of  the  work  and  with  the  children  who  were  its 
object. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  the  current 
December,  the  alumni  of  the  Urban  College, 
the  twelve  specially  destined  by  their  respect- 
ive bishops  for  the  new  college,  accompanied 
by  their  respective  Rectors  and  by  ^Igr. 
Bedini,  Archbishop  of  Thebes,  Secretary  of  the 
Sacred  Congregation  of  the  Propaganda,  went 
to  the  Church  of  the  'Umiltà'  to  receive  the 
most  eminent  Cardinal  Alexander  Barnabo, 
Prefect  of  the  great  Congregation.  When  the 
cardinal  arrived  he  was  pleased  to  direct  to 
the  new  students  a  grave  discourse,  which  all 
those  present  admired  for  its  sweetness  and 
force  of  eloquence,  truly  sublime  and  holy. 

"The  learned  orator,  inspired  by  the  sublim- 
ity of  his  mind  and  the  sweetness  of  his  heart, 
commenced  by  observing  that  it  seemed  very 
providential  that  the  Holy  Father,  in  the  midst 
of  the  many  tribulations  which  rend  his  heart, 
had  not  forgotten  his  long -cherished  idea  of 
establishing  in  the  center  of  Catholicism  the 


RT.    REV.    WILLIAM  G.   M'CLOSKEY,    D.D., 

LATE  BISHOP  OF  LOUISVILLE,   KY. 

PHOTO  TAKEN   WHILE  FIRST  RECTOR   OF  THE  COLLEGE 


i 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       63 

American  College.  But  this,  said  he,  ought 
not  to  surprise  us,  because  he  is  the  pilot  of 
the  mystic  bark  of  Peter,  which  may  be  shaken, 
but  never  submerged  by  the  waves  ;  because  on 
her  flag  there  is  written  by  the  hand  of  Om- 
nipotence the  divine  word  'indefectible/  Of 
this,  God  Himself  is  a  guarantee,  for  He  has 
said  that  the  gates  of  hell  would  never  prevail 
against  her.  He  added  that  the  opening  of 
this  College  was  of  the  greatest  importance  for 
the  great  nation  which  is  eminently  a  nation 
of  progress,  and  in  this  regard  he  would  re- 
mind its  citizens — in  the  midst  of  their  material 
progress,  through  which  it  may  be  said  that 
cities  are  improvised  rather  than  made — of  the 
words  of  St.  Leo,  regarding  ancient  Rome: 
Magnam  sibi  videhatur  suscepisse  religionem 
quia  nullam  respuerat  falsitatem.  In  fact, 
he  pointed  out  that  while  America  boasted  of 
granting  every  liberty  of  worship,  she  was,  at 
the  same  time,  the  cradle  of  every  false  system 
and  error;  and  yet  offered  great  hopes  of  the 
final  triumph  of  truth. 

"Then  turning  to  the  alumni  of  the  new 


64   History  of  the  American  College.Bome 

College,  the  illustrious  cardinal  said  that  as  our 
Divine  Saviour  sent  out  His  twelve  apostles 
to  combat  the  errors  and  the  vices  of  the  pagan 
world  ;  so  were  the  alumni  before  him  destined 
to  continue  the  apostolic  mission  in  their  coun- 
try; and  that  to  be  fitted  for  this  work  they 
must  possess  true  liberty  and  independence, 
w^hich  consist  in  the  holy  fear  of  God,  and  in 
that  knowledge  which  is  a  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  But  as  in  vain  do  men  build  the  city 
or  watch  over  it,  if  the  Lord  does  not  build  and 
watch  it;  so  useless  would  be  all  their  forces 
if  they  were  not  animated  with  these  senti- 
ments. In  this  way  they  would  be  true  arrows 
— according  to  the  expression  of  the  prophet — 
in  the  hands  of  the  Powerful,  coming  directly 
from  Him  who  has  received  the  fulness  of 
power  from  God  Himself. 

"After  his  Eminence  had  wonderfully  de- 
veloped these  thoughts,  he  congratulated  the 
youths  on  the  propitious  circumstance  of  the 
day  on  which  the  desires  of  the  Holy  Father 
had  been  accomplished,  being  the  vigil  of  the 
feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  Mary, 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       65 

Patroness,  with  this  title,  of  all  the  churches 
of  the  United  States  of  America.  He  con- 
cluded by  turning  affectionately  to  the  Virgin, 
and  by  exciting  the  most  devout  sentiments  in 
the  hearts  of  the  whole  audience  by  a  fervent 
prayer  which  ended  his  discourse. 

"After  this,  the  whole  audience,  deeply 
moved,  sang  the  'Veni  Creator,'  to  implore  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  descend  into  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  new  alumni  ;  and  then  the  cardinal 
gave  Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

"Afterward  the  alumni,  leaving  the  church, 
entered  the  new  College,  at  the  gate  of  which 
they  were  received  by  the  Cardinal-Prefect  and 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Propaganda,  who  were 
assisted  by  the  American  Minister,  and  the 
Consul  of  the  United  States,  by  several  prel- 
ates and  American  bishops,  and  American  lay- 
men present  in  the  city. 

"To  this  solemn  function  another  was  added 
in  the  interior  chapel  dedicated  to  the  Immac- 
ulate Virgin,  where  all,  on  their  knees,  sang  the 
Litany  and  received  the  triple  Benediction  of 
the  cardinal. 


66  History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

"On  the  following  day,  to  celebrate  the  feast 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  in  the  church 
dedicated  to  the  Immaculate  Virgin,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Propaganda  pontificated 
at  a  Solemn  Mass,  at  which  the  alumni 
assisted  and  served  on  the  ceremonies,  which 
they  did  with  great  correctness;  while  the 
alumni  of  the  Urban  College  sang  the  Mass 
of  the  celebrated  Palestrina  with  great 
success. 

''At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day.  His  Holiness  deigned  to  receive  in 
particular  audience  the  young  men  composing 
the  new  college.  Monsignore,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Propaganda,  conducted  them  to  His  Holi- 
ness, and  exhorted  them  to  deserve  well  of  the 
love  of  the  Church.  The  Holy  Father  gave 
them  the  Apostolic  Benediction  and  distrib- 
uted to  them  mementoes  of  the  day  with  such 
paternal  benevolence  that  the  fortunate  alumni, 
prostrated  with  their  hearts  more  than  with 
their  knees  before  the  Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ, 
blessed  the  happy  day  which,  if  it  was  solemn 
for  them,  will  not  be  less  so  for  all  their  Cath- 


The  Idea  of  the  American  College       67 

olic  fellow-citizens  in  the  vast  countries  of  the 
United  States  of  America. 

**The  Holy  Father,  after  this  audience, 
deigned  to  descend  with  the  alumni  toward  the 
garden,  and  stopped  before  the  picture  which 
represents  the  well-known  accident  in  St. 
Agnes'  Church  in  which  the  whole  college  of 
the  Propaganda  had  such  a  prominent  part. 
Some  one  told  His  Holiness  that  the  prefect  of 
the  new  alumni,  who  was  an  American, 
Rev.  Edward  McGlynn,  taken  for  this  office 
from  the  Urban  College,  had  been  present 
at  that  prodigious  catastrophe.  The  Holy 
Father  turned  then  more  lovingly,  looked  at 
him  and  spoke  to  him;  but  the  young  prefect 
on  his  knees  answered:  *Ah!  Holy  Father,  I 
was  present,  but  I  had  not  the  good  fortune 
to  fall  with  your  Holiness.'  How  much  this 
ingenuous  lament,  which  preferred  a  glorious 
danger  to  a  sterile  safety,  reveals  of  virtue  and 
of  beauty  in  that  young  heart!  And  from 
this  incident  we  learn  how  promptly  to  the 
affectionate  language  of  the  son,  corresponded 
the  tender  emotion  of  the  Holy  Father." 


CHAPTER    II 

HISTORY  AND  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  BUILDING 

IN  AN  old  guide-book  of  Rome,  published  in 
the  year  1643,  the  following  historical 
notice  appears  of  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  of 
Humility,  which  is  now  known  as  the  Church 
of  the  American  College  in  Rome:  "After 
Francesca  Baglioni  Orsini  labored  for  many 
years  in  the  construction  of  this  church  and 
monastery,  and  in  providing  it  with  all  that 
was  necessary,  God  finally  gave  her  the  grace 
to  see  it  finished  in  the  year  1603,  when  on  the 
feast  of  St.  Michael,  September  29th,  a  colony 
of  Dominican  Sisters  received  the  religious 
habit,  and  four  professed  nuns  of  the  same 
order  came  from  the  Monastery  of  St.  Mary 
Magdalen  on  the  Quirinal  to  instruct  them  in 
the  duties  of  the  religious  life.  The  principal 
feast  of  this  church  is  the  Assumption  of  Our 
Lady.  They  also  celebrate  the  feast  of  St. 
Michael  in  September."^ 

'This    anonymous     GUIDE    is    amongst    my    books    some- 
68 


History  and  Description  of  the  Building    G9 

Francesca  Baglioni  was  the  daughter  of 
Francesco  Baglioni,  the  head  of  a  noble  Peru- 
gian  family  allied  by  blood  to  the  Medici,  the 
Savelli,  and  to  many  other  distinguished  fam- 
ilies of  Florence  and  of  Rome.  At  the  death 
of  her  father,  Francesca,  a  woman  of  many 
virtues,  inherited  his  large  estates,  which  she 
determined  to  use  for  good  purposes.  She 
married  an  Orsini,  a  scion  of  the  great  Italian 
house  of  that  name,  and  was  as  exemplary  a 
wife  as  she  had  been  a  devoted  daughter.  After 
her  husband's  decease,  the  saintly  widow 
turned  her  thoughts  more  and  more  to  heavenly 
things,  and  began  to  cherish  the  desire  of  enter- 
ing the  religious  state.  She  then  conceived  the 
design  of  building  and  endowing  a  convent  for 

wheres;  it  is  written  in  Italian.  A  Latin  description  in  memory 
of  the  Foundress  of  the  Monastery  used  to  hang  up  in  the 
Sacristy;  another,  over  the  entrance  to  the  Domestic  Chapel, 
recorded  the  reading  of  the  Decree  in  that  spot,  declaring  Mary 
Margaret  Venerable. 

Pope  Pius  IX,  when  a  boy,  used  to  serve  his  uncle's  Mass 
in  the  Church  of  the  Umiltà.  His  uncle,  Mgr.  Mastai  Ferretti, 
afterward  bishop,  was  at  that  time  a  canon  in  the  neighboring 
College  of  Sta.  Maria  in  Via  Lata. 

The  Visitandines  formerly  attracted  all  the  nobility  of  Rome, 
as  their  chaplain  and  our  chaplain,  Don  Giuseppe,  used  to  re- 
late.— Note  by  Archbishop  Corrigan. 


70  History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

the  reception  of  ladies  of  noble  but  poor  fam- 
ilies, and  impelled  by  this  purpose  she  bought, 
in  the  year  1598,  the  ground  on  which  now 
stands  the  edifice  known  as  the  American  Col- 
lege. An  overflow  of  the  Tiber  prevented  the 
beginning  of  the  building  for  some  time;  but 
in  the  year  1603  it  was  finished,  and  its  de- 
voted foundress  made  provision  for  the  shelter 
and  support  of  thirty  choir  sisters  of  the  order 
of  St.  Dominic,  giving  her  convent  the  name 
of  St.  Mary  of  Humility— Santa  IVIaria  delF 
Umiltà.  The  street  in  which  the  College  is 
situated  is  still  called  by  this  name. 

Although  Francesca  never  became  a  nun, 
she  passed  the  last  years  of  her  life  in  the  con- 
vent, living  simply  and  humbly,  and  taking  her 
place  at  table  among  the  novices.  As  much  of 
her  great  fortune  as  she  had  not  spent  in  the 
convent,  she  gave  to  the  poor,  and  was  known 
far  and  near  for  her  charity  and  goodness  of 
heart.  She  died  in  the  year  1626,  after  having 
passed  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  the 
asylum  of  peace,  prayer,  and  piety  erected  by 
her  generosity.    In  one  of  the  rooms  may  still 


History  and  Description  of  the  Building    7 1 

be  seen  a  marble  slab  erected  to  her  memory  by 
the  nuns,  with  the  following  inscription  in 
Italian  : 

L'ili  .  Sig  .   Francesca  .  Baglionì  .  Orsini 

Fondatrice  .  di  .  questo  .  monasterio, 

Visse  .  in  .  questa  .  cella  .  circa  XXV  anni 

Con  .  oratione  .   diguini  .   at  .  altre  .  buone  .  opere 

Se  infirmo  .  Li  VI  .  di  Giugno  .  MDCXXVI 
E.  Mostro  .  grandiss  .  pazienza  .  con  .  stupore  .  delle 

monache 

E.  Medici    .    osservo    .    grandiss    .    silenzio    .    parlando 

apena    .   nelle    .    cose    .    necessarie 

Passo  .  a  meglior  .  vita  .  Li  XV  Luglio  dell'istesso  anno 

Dove  .  si  degni  .  pregare  .  per  le  sue  .  figliole 

Quel  .  signore  .  qui  est  .  benedictus  .  in  saecula 

"The  most  illustrious  lady,  Francesca  Baglionì  Orsini,  Foun- 
dress of  this  monastery,  lived  in  this  cell  nearly  twenty-five 
years  in  prayer,  fasting,  and  other  good  works.  She  became 
ill  June  6,  1626,  and  manifested  great  patience,  to  the  admira- 
tion of  the  nuns  and  the  physicians.  She  observed  the  strictest 
silence,  hardly  speaking  even  when  it  was  necessary.  She 
passed  to  the  better  life,  July  15th  of  the  same  year.  There 
may  she  pray  for  her  daughters,  to  the  Lord,  who  is  eternally 
blessed." 

The  convent  was  used  for  its  original  pur- 
pose until  1822,  when  it  was  sold  to  the  Papal 
government,  and  given  afterward  to  the  Visita- 
tion nuns.  While  they  owned  it,  the  Pontiff- 
King,  Pius  IX,  made  them  two  visits,  which 
are  commemorated  in  the  present  community 


72   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

chapel  by  a  tablet  on  which  is  inscribed  the 

following  ; 

Pio  IX  .  p  .  o  .  M 

Quod  .  A.D.    MDCCCXLVI   .  die  .  II   .  mensis  .  Julii 

Deiparae   .   Elizabeth  .  visitanti  .  devota 

Ad  .  continentem  .  Marianam  .   aedem 

Extemplo  .  e  .  colle  .  quirino  .  sacro  .  conficiendo 

descendit 

Monicales  .  deinde  .  presentia   .  sua  .  jucundaverit 

Iterum  .  vero  .   anno   .  eodem  .  mensis  .  Augusti  .  die 

XXIII 

Claustra  .  haec  .  ingressus 

Virtutes  .   Ven  .  Margaritae  .   Mariae  Alacoque 

Heroicas  .  decreto  ,   adseruit 

Sorores  .  a  .  visitatione  .  beneficiis  .  ejus  .  cumulatae 

Fausta   .   felicia  .   adprecantur 

From  this  inscription  we  learn  that  in  this 
building,  now  the  American  College,  the  Su- 
preme Pontiff  authentically  recognized  the 
heroic  sanctity  of  Blessed  Margaret  Mary, 
the  virgin  apostle  of  the  devotion  to  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus.  A  similar  honor  in  regard  to 
another  saint  belongs  to  the  German  College 
in  Rome,  for  it  was  there  that  the  Pope  opened 
the  process  of  the  Beatification  of  Blessed 
John  Berchmans,  one  of  the  glories  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus.  As  Blessed  Margaret  ^lary 
was  a  Visitation  nun,  it  was  an  act  of  pon- 
tifical courtesy  to  declare  her  heroic  sanctity  in 


History  and  Description  of  the  Building    73 

a  convent  of  the  Order;  and  the  College  is,  by 
this  act  of  the  Pope,  inseparably  associated 
with  the  devotion  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of 
Jesus. 

The  Visitation  Nuns  must  have  left  the 
convent  about  the  year  1848,  for  during  the 
French  occupation  of  Rome,  we  find  it  used, 
as  we  have  already  mentioned,  as  a  lodging- 
house  for  the  French  officers. 

The  building  itself  is  of  the  ordinary  Roman 
style,  simple  and  unadorned,  but  solid  and 
substantial,  and  with  no  attempt  at  external 
ornamentation.  The  plain  exterior  of  buff 
color  would  give  no  idea  of  the  use  which  it 
serves,  were  it  not  for  the  f a9ade  of  the  church 
adjoining.  The  interior  is  that  which  is  usual 
in  a  convent,  college,  or  monastery,  with  floors 
of  tiling  or  brick.  Among  the  many  inscrip- 
tions on  the  walls,  is  one  near  the  parlor  re- 
cording the  fact  of  the  foundation  of  the  Col- 
lege by  Pope  Pius  IX;  it  is  given,  with  its 
translation  in  English,  in  Chapter  I.  (Page 
45.) 

In  the  corridor,  where  tliis  inscription  is 


74   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

found,  are  placed  the  portraits  of  the  Ameri- 
can hierarchy,  and  a  number  of  mural  shrines  ; 
one  of  these  is  near  the  chapel  and  is  a  painting 
of  the  Madonna  and  Child,  presented  to  the 
College  by  Pius  IX,  as  stated  in  the  inscrip- 
tion above  it.  The  College  possesses  several 
other  valuable  memorials  of  this  Pontiff; 
among  others,  a  portrait  and  a  bust  of  him- 
self, in  the  parlor.  The  bust  is  by  Milmore, 
taken  from  actual  sittings,  and  is  considered 
one  of  the  best  likenesses  of  the  Pope.  Leo 
XIII  has  also  made  gifts  to  the  College, 
among  them  being  a  large  oil  painting  bearing 
the  Papal  arms,  which  covers  the  greater  part 
of  the  rear  wall  of  the  College  hall.  In  this 
gift,  Leo  wished  to  express  his  zeal  for  the 
culture  of  scholastic  philosophy  and  theology. 
The  picture  contains  life-size  portraits  of  the 
Pope's  brother.  Cardinal  Pecci,  and  of  Cardi- 
nal Satolli,  at  that  time  a  Domestic  Prelate, 
both  of  whom  were  active  instruments  in  the 
great  movement  toward  the  restoration  of 
mediaeval  scholasticism  in  the  high-schools  of 
the  Church. 


History  and  Description  of  the  Building  75 

In  the  beautiful  garden  attached  to  the  Col- 
lege are  many  rare  plants  and  a  number  of 
orange  trees.  Along  the  base  of  its  walls  lie 
fragments  of  columns,  broken  inscriptions, 
friezes,  and  excavated  forms,  which  excite  the 
curiosity  of  the  archseologist,  and  may  contain 
interesting  information  for  him.  A  group  of 
statuary,  "The  Descent  from  the  Cross,"  the 
original  cast  of  the  group  in  the  Church  of 
the  Trinità  dei  Monti,  said  to  have  taken  the 
artist,  Achtermann,  twelve  years  to  complete  ; 
Pettrich's  "St.  Cecilia,"  a  work  of  great 
beauty,  representing  the  saint  attended  by  an 
angel;  and  an  "Immaculate  Conception,"  at 
the  foot  of  which  the  sparkling  waters  of  a 
splashing  fountain  seem  to  be  murmuring  con- 
tinual homage  to  the  Mother  of  God,  make  a 
striking  contrast  to  the  luxuriant  verdure 
which  surrounds  them,  and  give  added  beauty 
to  the  peaceful  garden.^ 

^Many  of  these  statements,  and  others  that  follow,  are 
taken  from  a  series  of  articles  published  in  the  American 
Ecclesiastical  Review. 


CHAPTER  III 

DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    COLLEGE    CHURCH, 
SANTA  MARIA  DELL'  UIMILTÀ 

A  WIDE  vestibule,  which  in  former  days  was 
"^  the  sacristy,  leads  from  the  College  to  the 
church,  at  the  entrance  of  which  are  two  beau- 
tiful fonts  made  of  Porta  Santa  marble.  The 
sculptor,  the  painter,  the  carver  in  wood,  and 
the  worker  in  metal  have  all  applied  their  high- 
est art  to  the  beautifying  of  this  temple  of 
God;  and  works  of  the  greatest  artistic  merit 
embellish  its  altars  and  its  walls.  Brilliant 
variegated  marbles,  among  which  are  five 
specimens  of  Sicilian  jasper,  are  so  disposed 
as  to  make  corresponding  designs  on  both  sides 
of  the  building.  The  side  chapels  are  adorned 
with  graceful  arches,  paneled  paintings  being 
set  in  the  marble  surface.  The  ceiling  is  deco- 
rated by  a  fine  "Assumption  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,"  having  on  one  side  a  life-size  figure 
of  Religion,  and  on  the  other  one  of  Purity; 

76 


Description  of  the  College  Church       77 

both  surrounded  by  a  handsome  gilt  frame- 
work. Angels  bearing  garlands  and  emble- 
matic designs,  all  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
principal  picture,  but  in  subdued  tints,  and 
symbolic  devices  in  chiaroscuro,  executed  with 
marvelous  skill,  fill  the  remaining  panels  of 
the  ceiling. 

The  main  altar  stands  under  a  broad  gilt 
arch  decorated  with  flowered  reliefs,  having  in 
the  center  a  white  dove  surrounded  by  angels  ; 
the  inner  surface  of  the  recess  is  formed  by 
one  of  the  broken  pediments  of  the  baroque 
period,  and  close  to  the  pediment  are  two 
columns  of  giallo-antico,  a  very  rare  marble, 
bearing  a  fine  picture  of  the  Assumption,  just 
below  the  arch.  At  one  time  there  hung  be- 
neath this  a  rare  gem  of  art,  a  Madonna  of 
Perugini,  given  by  the  Macharini  family  at 
the  request  of  a  relative,  who  was  at  that  time 
a  novice  in  the  Visitation  convent.  The  deco- 
ration of  the  altar  was  greatly  enriched  to  fur- 
nish a  suitable  setting  for  this  treasure,  which 
formerly  filled  the  centre  of  a  large  amethyst 
oval  over  five  feet  in  diameter,  supported  by 


78   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

marble  angels,  and  containing,  besides  the 
painting,  the  dove  already  mentioned  and 
adoring  angels  at  the  sides.  The  painting  was 
probably  taken  away  by  the  nuns  when  they 
left  the  building  ;  it  is  now  replaced  by  a  well- 
executed  copy  of  Giulio  Romano's  picture  of 
the  apostles  looking  into  the  flower-covered 
tomb  in  which  they  had  placed  the  body  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin. 

On  the  Gospel  side  of  the  arch  is  a  life-size 
marble  figure  of  St.  Mary  jMagdalen,  the  type 
of  repentance,  and  on  the  opposite  side  one  of 
St.  Catharine  of  Alexandria,  a  type  of  study; 
both  in  the  style  of  Bernini,  and  are  the  gifts 
of  Camilla  IMacharini  and  her  son  Paul,  as  we 
read  on  two  mural  tablets  of  black  marble 
placed  near  them.  The  altar  itself  is  composed 
chiefly  of  Sicilian  marble,  and  like  nearly  all 
Roman  high  altars  is  plain  in  design,  attract- 
ing attention  more  by  the  excellence  of  its 
material  than  by  its  ornamentation.  The 
semi-cylindrical  tabernacle  is  of  bronze,  and 
is  enclosed  in  an  outer  covering  with  a 
heavy    base,    pillar    and    canopy    of    colored 


Description  of  the  College  Church       79 

Sicilian  jasper.  The  church  is  rich  in  the 
variety  and  value  of  its  marbles,  from 
Greece,  Asia  Minor,  Arabia,  Nubia,  Mauri- 
tania, Sicily,  Aquitania,  the  Pyrenees,  and 
the  quarries  of  Carrara  and  Seranezza,  all 
of  which  were  used  by  the  Romans  in  pagan 
times. 

The  side  altars  are  nearly  all  alike  in  design  ; 
showing  large  panels  of  porphyry  and  Thes- 
salian  stone  with  facings  of  Numidian  marble. 
The  altar  of  the  Crucifixion  is  the  gift  of  the 
Colonna  family,  as  appears  from  the  armorial 
bearings  and  the  mural  tablet  near  it.  Its 
frontal  is  a  white  marble  pelican  feeding  its 
young  from  its  torn  breast,  and  it  is  sur- 
rounded by  chiseled  framework  in  African 
and  Greek  marble.  The  Carrara  predella, 
or  platform,  is  inlaid  with  colored  marble  ;  and 
above  it  stands  a  life-size  figure  of  the  Cruci- 
fied in  carved  wood.  Marble  cherubs  cluster 
in  the  gilded  arch  above  the  pediments  and 
capitals,  which  are  supported  by  two  columns 
of  Sicilian  jasper.  At  the  side,  marble  reliefs 
represent  angels  with  the  instruments  of  the 


80   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

Passion,  below  which    the  following  inscrip- 
tions are  cut  in  a  tablet  of  black  marble  : 

SOROR   .   ANNA  .   SERA-  REPARATAE    .    SALUTIS 
PHINA  .  COLUMNA  ANNO 

EX  .  RUVIANA 

DOMINIS  MDCLXXXV 

In  the  next  altar,  we  have  a  memorial  of  the 
Salesian  Sisters.  The  altar-piece  consists  of  a 
remarkable  group  of  statuary  occupying  the 
recess  of  the  chapel.  St.  Francis  de  Sales  is 
seated,  pen  in  hand,  in  the  attitude  of  one  paus- 
ing in  his  writing  and  looking  upward  as  if 
for  further  inspiration.  At  his  side  hovers  a 
beautiful  angel  holding  a  miter  and  a  crozier, 
and  bending  approvingly  over  the  book.  This 
group  is  the  work  of  Francesco  IModerno,  and 
evinces  much  care  in  composition  and  detail. 
The  altar  itself  is  rich  in  variegated  marbles; 
and  it  is  here,  in  the  great  vaults  which  under- 
lie the  building,  that  the  holy  foundress  is 
entombed. 

The  altar  opposite  is  that  of  St.  Dominic, 
and  is  notable  on  account  of  the  large  and 
handsome  painting  over  it.  This  picture  repre- 
sents our  Blessed  Lady,  with  St.  Catharine  of 


Description  of  the  College  Church       81 

Alexandria  and  St.  Mary  Magdalen  holding 
a  full  length  portrait  of  St.  Dominic,  and  sur- 
rounded by  angels  and  cherubs.  The  picture 
of  St.  Dominic  is  a  facsimile  of  the  one  pre- 
served at  Soriano,  a  delicately  beautiful  piece 
of  work.  Judging  from  a  certain  similarity  in 
artistic  treatment  to  the  pictures  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  and  St.  Ann,  to  be  mentioned  later  on, 
it  appears  not  improbable  that  both  are  the 
work  of  the  same  artist.  There  is  also  in  this 
chapel  a  specimen  of  splendidly  executed  work 
in  Florentine  mosaic;  it  consists  of  clusters  of 
lilies,  shaded  with  such  exceeding  delicacy  as 
to  give  them  the  appearance  of  reality.  It  is 
said  that  this  effect  was  produced  by  the  ap- 
plication of  certain  acids,  and  that  the  process 
is  practically  one  of  the  lost  arts  ;  at  least  it  is 
not  known  now  as  it  was  in  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries. 

The  remaining  altar  is  that  of  Our  Lady  of 
Guadalupe,  with  a  life-size  representation,  an 
exact  copy  of  the  miraculous  image.  This 
painting  was  placed  here,  it  is  believed,  be- 
cause the   Papal   decree   which  founded  the 


82   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

American  College  was  promulgated  on  the 
feast  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe.  Like 
the  others,  this  altar  is  enriched  with  elaborate 
inlaid  marble,  and  possesses  two  graceful 
columns  beautifully  encrusted  with  Sicilian 
jasper. 

Among  the  most  remarkable  decorations  of 
the  church  are  six  statues  of  heroic  size  stand- 
ing in  niches  of  green  marble  enclosed  in 
frames  of  yellow  marble.  The  first  on  the 
Epistle  side  is  identified  as  a  virgin  and  mar- 
tyr, by  the  palm  branch  in  her  hand,  but  there 
is  nothing  to  indicate  her  name.  Next  comes 
St.  Ursula,  known  by  the  arrows  which  she 
bears.  After  her,  we  see  St.  Agnes  with  the 
Lamb,  emblematic  of  innocence.  The  youth- 
ful martyr's  gaze  is  directed  above  and  be- 
yond the  things  of  earth,  as  if  she  would  fain 
see  even  here  the  celestial  object  of  her  love. 
Opposite  her,  the  peaceful  St.  Barbara  looks 
thoughtfully  down  on  us,  and  further  on  St. 
Catharine  of  Alexandria  stands  with  that  gaze 
of  conscious  power  which  only  knowledge  can 
give.     St.  Cecilia  occupies  the  niche  nearest 


Description  of  the  College  Church       83 

the  high  altar  on  the  Gospel  side,  and  looks 
across  the  church  as  if  attracted  by  the  beauty 
of  her  sister-spirit,  Agnes. 

From  the  statuary  we  now  turn  to  the 
paintings,  whose  bright  colors  relieve  the 
whiteness  of  the  marble.  Above  the  unknown 
martyr,  just  mentioned,  hangs  a  delicately 
executed  painting  of  St.  Ann  and  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  of  simple  design  and  strong  coloring; 
the  figure  of  the  youthful  Mary  is  especially 
graceful,  and  there  is  an  air  of  repose  about 
the  work  wholly  in  keeping  with  the  sub- 
ject. Farther  down,  and  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  church,  we  see  St.  Helena  and  St.  Mary 
Magdalen  in  a  more  pronounced  and  not  less 
elevated  style  of  painting.  The  remaining 
panel  contains  a  highly  devotional  picture  of 
Our  Lord,  revealing  Himself  to  Blessed  Mar- 
garet Mary;  and  at  the  end  of  the  nave  are 
four  large,  well-executed  frescoes. 

The  choir  screen  is  one  of  the  most  striking 
objects  in  the  church,  and  is  carved  in  wood; 
gilded  cherubs  are  poised  on  the  top  of  a  be- 
wildering maze  of  intersections  and  interlac- 


84   History  of  the  American  College.Eome 

ings,  so  closely  and  delicately  wrought  as  to 
conceal  singers  and  organ  alike  from  the  gaze 
of  those  below.  Carved  columns  and  pend- 
ants give  S}Tiimetry  and  design  to  the  whole; 
and  the  entire  surface  is  richly  gilt.  The  organ 
is  a  good  instrument,  secured  at  the  Paris  Ex- 
hibition of  1867,  by  Bishop  Chatard,  the  sec- 
ond Rector  of  the  College. 

The  whole  style  of  the  church  would  be 
called  by  the  Italians  "barocco  ma  castigato." 
It  is  of  the  school  of  Bernini,  without  any  of 
his  later  extravagances.  The  decorations  must 
have  taken  centuries  to  complete;  yet  the 
church  is  not  finished.  The  floor  is  not  tiled, 
as  Italian  church  floors  usually  are.  Slabs  in 
the  present  pavement  mark  the  resting  place 
of  one  of  the  Colonnas: 

"De  hoc  ven  monasterio  bene  merentis;" 

and  of  some  other  benefactor  whose  name  can 
not  now  be  deciphered. 

In  a  large  and  elegant  porphyry  tablet,  near 
the  entrance  to  the  church,  a  fitting  tribute  is 
paid  to  the  noble  foundress  in  these  words  : 


Description  of  the  College  Church       85 

Francesca  .   Balcone  .  Orsinae 

Quae  .  Viro  .  defuncto  .  Monasterium  .  hoc 

Fundavit  .  excitavit  .  ac  idoneo  .   reditu  .  munivit 

Hujus  .  Coenobii  .  Virgines 

Fundatrici  .  munificentissimae  .  Posuere 

Some  of  the  words  are  missing,  but  those 
that  time  has  spared  indicate  the  meaning  of 
the  whole,  which  in  English  would  read  as 
follows  : 

"The  Religious  of  this  convent  have  placed 
here  this  memorial  of  their  most  munificent 
foundress,  Francesca  Baglioni  Orsini,  who, 
after  the  death  of  her  husband,  founded, 
erected,  and  endowed  this  monastery." 


CHAPTER  IV 

PROGRESS  OF  THE  COLLEGE  SINCE  ITS 
FOUNDATION 

rpHE  Pro-Rector  of  the  College  at  the  time 
of  its  opening  was  the  Very  Reverend 
Dr.  Bernard  Smith,  O.S.B.,  for  many  years 
Professor  of  Theology  at  the  Propaganda. 
He  was  noted  for  his  great  learning;  and  he 
was  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  English-speak- 
ing residents  in  the  Holy  City,  to  whom  he 
was  always  a  devoted  guide  and  friend.  He 
was  afterwards  made  Abbot  in  his  order,  the 
Benedictines. 

Before  the  opening  of  the  College,  Cardinal 
Barnabo  invited  the  prelates  of  the  United 
States  to  submit  to  the  Holy  See  three  names 
for  the  office  as  Rector,  as  appears  from  a  let- 
ter of  His  Eminence  to  Archbishop  Hughes 
dated  June  1,  1859.  This  movement  was 
intended  as  a  special  compliment  to  our 
hierarchy.  From  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
se 


m%  ¥ 


mi^ 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation         87 

try,  fifteen  names  were  proposed;  and  of  these 
that  of  the  Very  Rev.  William  McCloskey 
was  selected.  He  had  been  for  some  time  Pro- 
fessor of  Moral  Theology  at  Mt.  St.  Mary's 
Seminary,  Emmitsburg;  and  previously  an 
assistant  in  New  York  City  to  his  brother,  the 
Rev.  George  McCloskey,  then  Rector  of  the 
Church  of  the  Nativity.  He  was  app/)inted 
Dec.  1,  1859  and  reached  Rome  in  the  begin- 
ning of  March,  1860,  and  at  once  assumed  the 
duties  of  his  office,  which  he  continued  to  ful- 
fil up  to  the  time  of  his  appointment  as  Bishop 
of  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  1868.^  During  his  ad- 
ministration the  College  became  very  flourish- 
ing, the  number  of  students  increasing  rapidly 
from  thirteen  to  fifty,  of  whom  six  came  from 
New  York,  four  from  Newark,  two  from 
Brooklyn,  five  from  Philadelphia,  and  the  re- 
mainder from  the  New  England  States,  the 
South,  and  the  West. 

The  College  began  at  once  to  take  rank 
among  the  foremost  in  Rome,  for  the  excel- 
lence of  its  discipline,  and  the  proficiency  of  its 

*He  died  September  16,  1909. 


88   History  of  the  American  College.Bome 

students.  But  its  financial  condition  was  not 
on  a  sound  basis;  hence  the  Rector  in  1866  ap- 
pealed to  the  American  bishops  then  assembled 
in  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore. 
This  appeal  soon  bore  fruit,  for  Archbishop 
Spalding  of  Baltimore,  who  as  delegate  of  the 
Holy  See  convoked  and  presided  at  the  coun- 
cil, in  his  letter  promulgating  its  decrees,  com- 
mended the  College  to  the  good-will  of  the 
bishops,  and  stated  that  according  to  their 
wishes  an  executive  committee  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  act  in  concert  with  the  Archbishops 
of  the  United  States  in  looking  after  the 
financial  affairs  of  the  institution.  The  first 
chairman  of  this  committee  was  Bishop  Wood 
of  Philadelphia;  the  other  members  being 
Bishops  Bayley  of  Newark,  Lynch  of  Charles- 
ton, McFarland  of  Hartford,  and  the  Bishop- 
elect  of  Columbus,  Dr.  Rosecrans.^ 

In  1869,  a  distinguished  clergyman  of  the 
diocese  of  Newark,  the  Rev.  George  H. 
Doane,  was  appointed  by  the  bishops  to  col- 

^The  circular  letter  to  the  archbishops  and  bishops  appears 
in  the  Appendix,  p.  435. 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation         89 

lect  funds  for  the  College.    For  this  purpose 
he  made  a  tour  of  the  country,  and  succeeded 
in  raising  the  sum  of  $150,000,  which  at  once 
placed  the  College  on  an  excellent  financial 
basis.    In  the  course  of  time  the  active  mem- 
bers of  the  Executive   Committee  were  the 
Archbishops   of  Baltimore   and   New   York, 
with  the  Bishops  of  Philadelphia,  Newark,  and 
Hartford.     When  Bishop  Bayley  was  trans- 
ferred from  Newark  to  Baltimore,  his  suc- 
cessor in  the   See  of  Newark,  who  was  an 
alumnus  and  one  of  the  original  students  of 
the   College,   was  elected   a  member   of  the 
Board  in  1873.     Subsequently  the  Bishop  of 
Hartford,  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  McFarland,  died  on 
May  12,  1874,  and  the  Bishop  of  Boston,  Rt. 
Rev.  Dr.  Williams,  took  the  vacant  place  on 
the  committee.     When  he  and  the  Bishop  of 
Philadelphia  were  raised  to  the  Metropolitan 
dignity  in  1875,  the  Board  was  composed  of 
the  following  members:  the  Archbishops  of 
Baltimore,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Bos- 
ton, with  the  Bishop  of  Newark  as  secretary. 
When  the  last-named  prelate  became  Coadju- 


90  History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

tor  to  Cardinal  McCloskey,  and  afterward 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee resolved  itself  into  the  incumbents  of 
the  four  following  Sees:  Baltimore,  Phila- 
delphia, Boston,  and  New  York;  and  no 
change  was  made  from  that  time  until  the 
death  of  Archbishop  Corrigan. 

During  the  Vatican  Council,  the  American 
prelates  then  present  in  Rome  discussed  the 
affairs  of  the  College,  particularly  as  regards 
the  purchase  of  property  and  the  disposition 
of  the  funds  accruing  from  burses.  With  re- 
gard to  the  property,  it  was  decided  that  the 
title  should  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  Sacred 
Congregation.  The  Propaganda  was  unwill- 
ing to  sell  then,  and  later  was  unable  to  do  so, 
because  it  could  not  give  a  legal  title.  With 
regard  to  the  burses,  it  was  agreed  that  when 
they  were  vacant  one-half  of  the  proceeds 
should  go  to  the  College  and  the  other  half  to 
the  diocese  to  which  the  burse  belonged. 

From  time  to  time  meetings  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  were  held,  as  occasion  required, 
but  unfortunately  no  memoranda  were  kept  of 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation         91 

such  meetings.  Meanwhile,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mc- 
Closkey  had  been  promoted  to  the  See  of 
Louisville,  and  was  consecrated  in  Rome  on 
May  24,  1868.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Very 
Rev.  Dr.  Francis  S.  Chatard,  an  alumnus  of 
the  Propaganda,  who  remained  Rector  of  the 
College  until  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Vincennes,  May  12,  1878.  On  the  departure 
of  Dr.  Chatard  for  his  new  field  of  labor,  the 
Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Louis  E.  Hostlot,  who  had  been 
previously  Vice-Rector  of  the  College,  became 
Rector,  and  remained  in  office  until  his  death, 
February  4,  1884. 

After  the  death  of  Mgr.  Hostlot  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  met  in  New  York  on  March 
12,  1884,  at  the  residence  of  Cardinal  Mc- 
Closkey,  to  consider  names  for  the  vacant 
place.  Three  candidates  were  proposed  in  the 
following  order,  being  the  order  of  seniority 
of  ordination:  Rev.  Dr.  Kieran  of  the  diocese 
of  Philadelphia,  an  alumnus  of  the  Ameri- 
can College  ordained  in  Rome  in  1869;  Rev. 
Dr.  Henry  Moeller,  also  student  of  the 
College,  ordained  in  1875  and  now  Bishop  of 


92   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Columbus,  O.  ;  and  Rev.  D.  J.  O'Connell,  stu- 
dent of  the  College  ordained  in  1877,  Rector 
of  the  Church  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Win- 
chester, Va.  At  this  time  the  Rev.  A.  J. 
Schulte  was  acting  as  Vice-Rector;  and  he 
gave  such  great  satisfaction  to  his  ecclesiastical 
superiors  in  Rome,  that  Cardinal  Simeoni  sug- 
gested he  should  be  allowed  to  remain  in 
charge  of  the  College  on  trial,  if  it  seemed  good 
to  the  Executive  Committee.  All  the  arch- 
bishops gave  their  consent,  and  the  Cardinal- 
Prefect  was  so  notified  by  letter  of  the  secre- 
tary, May  9,  1884. 

Later  on,  through  Bishop  Dwenger  of  Fort 
Wayne,  then  in  Rome,  and  acting  for  the 
Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  the  Rev.  Dr.  O'Con- 
nell was  named  Rector,  June  15,  1885,  and 
the  Rev.  A.  J.  Schulte  returned  to  Phila- 
delphia, his  place  as  Vice-Rector  being  assigned 
to  the  Rev.  Fr.  Deasy  of  the  diocese  of  Boston. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  O'Connell  was  created  Domestic 
Prelate  by  His  Holiness,  Pope  Leo  XIII,  on 
March  29,  1887.  He  remained  in  charge  of 
the   College  until   Nov.   21,    1895,   when  he 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation         93 

handed  in  his  resignation.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Mgr.  William  H.  O'Connell  of  Boston,  an 
alumnus  of  the  College,  who  was  appointed 
Rector  in  November,  1895,  and  was  named 
Domestic  Prelate  June  9,  1897.  When  Mgr. 
William  O'Connell  became  Bishop  of  Port- 
land, Me.,  in  1901,  the  present  Rector,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Kennedy  of  Philadelphia,  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  office.^ 

Among  the  Vice-Rectors  were  Fathers 
Charles  O'Connor  of  Philadelphia,  T.  Metcalf 
and  T.  Deasy  of  Boston,  Dr.  McDevitt  of 
Cincinnati,  Dr.  Francis  H.  Wall  of  New 
York,  whose  resignation  was  accepted  by 
Cardinal  McCloskey,  and  Dr.  Frederick  Z. 
Rooker  of  Albany,  afterward  appointed  Secre- 
tary of  the  Apostolic  Delegation  of  the  United 
States  and  who  died  Bishop  of  Jaro  in  the 
Philippine  Islands. 

The  following  pages  are  copied,  word  for 
word,  from  the  notes  of  Archbishop  Corrigan  : 

"While  Dr.  Hostlot  was  in  charge  of  the 

^He  is  still  Rector  at  the  date  of  this  writing,  September 
16,  1909. 


94   History  of  the  American  College^Eome 

College,  he  was  very  anxious  to  secure  that 
portion  of  the  premises  facing  the  Piazza 
Pilotta.  During  the  early  years  of  the  Col- 
lege this  southern  wing  was  used  as  a  barracks 
by  the  French  Zouaves.  Later  it  was  not 
turned  over  for  ecclesiastical  purposes.  It  had 
been  understood,  however,  and  promised  all 
along  that  it  should  be  turned  over  to  the 
Bishops  of  the  United  States  in  case  the  grow- 
ing needs  of  the  College  should  so  require. 
Eventually,  however,  it  was  sold,  as  is  narrated 
by  Dr.  Hostlot  in  a  letter  to  Archbishop  Cor- 
rigan  dated  Feb.  11,  1881  :  *The  Pilotta  prop- 
erty has  been  sold,  and  I  am  sorry  to  state 
that  it  has  passed  from  the  hands  of  the  Col- 
lege forever.  Mgr.  Masotti  (Secretary  of 
Propaganda)  had  promised  me  that,  in  any 
case,  the  affair  would  be  so  arranged  that  we 
could  obtain  possession  of  it  when  the  oppor- 
tune moment  arrived.  It  has  been  sold  to 
Sig.  Tromba,  who  has  had  it  in  lease,  and  who 
managed  so  well  that  he  even  got  Cardinal 
Sbaretti  to  obtain  the  necessary  permit  for  him 
in  order  to  become  legal  proprietor.     How- 


GRAND  STAIRWAY  Ui'  THE  COLLEGE 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation         95 

ever,  I  have  discharged  my  duty  faithfully  in 
this  matter.  I  wrote  and  telegraphed  to  Arch- 
bishop Wood,  as  I  was  ordered  by  the  authori- 
ties in  the  Propaganda.  The  answer  by  letter 
came  too  late  ;  and  a  negative  one  at  that.  Had 
His  Grace  accepted  my  offer  and  given  me 
permission  to  carry  out  my  plan,  the  house 
would  be  ours  to-day.  The  burden  would  not 
be  very  hard,  as  they  required  only  25,000  lire 
($5,000)  deposit  on  the  act  of  purchase,  and 
allowed  me  by  law  18  years  to  pay  the  rest. 
The  house  was  sold  for  275,000  lire  ($55,000) . 
I  could  have  paid  the  debt  in  ten  years.' 

PURCHASE  OF  THE  VILLA  AT  CASTEL  GANDOLFO 

"If  the  Rector,  Mgr.  Hostlot,  could  not  suc- 
ceed in  buying  this  addition  to  the  College,  he 
was  more  successful  in  purchasing  a  villa  at 
Castel  Gandolfo  for  the  summer  vacation.  This 
building  and  grounds  were  bought  in  1882  for 
52,000  lire  ($10,400)  ;  and  at  the  time  of  his 
premature  death  (Feb.  4,  1884)  he  gave  to  the 
College  12,000  lire  ($2,400)  to  extinguish  the 
debt  on  the  villa.    He  also  founded  a  perpetual 


96   History  of  the  American  College, Ro7ne 

burse,  by  his  last  will,  and  his  family,  in  this 
city,  added  a  second  burse  to  perpetuate  his 
memory. 

PURCHASE   OF   THE  VILLA  DI   SANTA  CATERINA 

"In  the  course  of  time  the  villa  at  Castel  Gan- 
dolfo  became  too  small  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  students.  Moreover,  the  play- 
ground, or  garden,  was  very  restricted  in  size, 
so  that  the  actual  Rector,  Mgr.  William  H. 
O'Connell,  was  very  anxious  to  obtain  a  larger 
building  and  more  extensive  grounds. 

"On  November  11,  1898,  the  Rector  of  the 
College  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Executive 
Committee,  detailing  the  reasons  for  wishing 
to  acquire  the  Villa  di  Sta.  Caterina,  belong- 
ing to  the  estate  of  Prince  Orsini,  at  Castel 
Gandolfo.  'It  consists,'  he  says,  *of  a  pal- 
azzo, magnificently  built,  containing  rooms 
enough  to  house  eighty  students  easily.  Be- 
sides the  main  building,  there  are  two  depend- 
encies, practically  a  part  of  the  palazzo;  one 
with  twelve  rooms  in  fine  condition,  the  other 
with  six  rooms  in  equally  good  state.    In  other 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation         97 

words,  room  enough  altogether  for  nearly  a 
hundred  people.  The  palazzo  stands  in  the 
midst  of  a  park  of  over  six  acres  in  extent,  and 
this  is  covered  by  groves  of  pines,  ilex,  chest- 
nut and  other  shade-trees,  forming  splendid 
avenues.  In  the  rear  of  the  palazzo  is  a  large 
English  garden  laid  out  in  plots.  The  whole 
villa  is  above  the  level  of  the  town  of  Albano, 
and  on  the  western  declivity  of  the  hill  which 
is  capped  by  Castel  Gandolfo.  There  are 
within  the  grounds  a  kitchen  garden  and  fruit 
orchard,  a  large  meadow  for  sheep  or  cows, 
and  a  vacchesia  (cowyard) .  In  a  word,  it  is  a 
princely  villa,  which  ten  years  ago  it  would  be 
impossible  to  buy.  To-day  the  Orsini  are 
ruined,  and  the  creditors  insist  upon  a  sale. 
.  .  .  After  holding  it  in  the  market  for  three 
years  at  the  price  of  250,000  lire,  and  finding 
absolutely  no  chance  of  a  buyer,  step  by  step 
they  have  come  down  until  to-day  it  is  offered 
at  130,000  lire.' 

*'0n  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  the  Executive 
Committee  gave  their  consent  to  the  purchase  ; 
and  on  November  30   Mgr.   O'Connell  was 


98   History  of  the  American  College,  Rome 

cabled  to  that  effect.  The  villa  was  duly  pur- 
chased. 

"One  of  the  New  York  students  thus  writes 
of  it  (July  19,  1899): 

"  'Our  new  villa  delights  us  beyond  measure, 
as  you  may  imagine,  and  we  all  were  happy.' 
Again  (Oct.  1899)  :  *  Situated  on  the  brow 
of  a  hill,  adjoining  the  Villa  Torlonia  (now 
used  as  the  Jesuit  Novitiate  of  the  Roman 
Province),  it  commands  a  superb  view  across 
the  wide-stretching  Campagna,  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean on  the  east,  the  Sabine  Hills  on  the 
west  (with  Soracte,  lion-like,  reposing  in  the 
foreground),  and  of  Rome,  a  little  west  of 
the  center,  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  dazzling  in 
the  sunshine,  its  crowning  jewel.  All  this  I 
can  look  out  upon  from  my  window  as  I  write  ; 
it  would  hardly  be  possible  to  do  justice  to  the 
scene  in  words.' 

"The  villa,  built,  I  think,  about  twenty-five 
years  ago,  was  the  property  of  the  Orsini.  .  .  . 
There  are  about  seventeen  acres,  planted  with 
four  thousand  trees,  of  much  variety,  value, 
and  beauty,  and  the  grounds,  laid  out  in  the 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation         99 

best  of  Italian  taste,  abound  in  charming 
walks,  gardens,  fountains,  and  grottoes,  not 
to  speak  of  extensive  orchards  and  vegetable 
gardens  of  which  the  Rector  is  making  the  best 
practical  and  economic  use.  The  palazzo  is  of 
three  stories,  with  plain,  square  fa9ade  of 
Roman  style.  The  interior  is  of  marble  stairs, 
tiled  floors  and  frescoed  walls,  proprio  un 
palazzo  df  una  famiglia  reale  Italiana" 

THE  INCORPORATION  OF  THE  COLLEGE 

With  the  purchase  of  the  villa  at  Castel  Gan- 
dolfo,  the  incorporation  of  the  College  under 
American  law  was  deemed  advisable  in  order 
that  the  legal  recognition  of  its  right  to  acquire 
and  hold  property  in  Italy  would  be  assured 
without  any  difficulty.  The  following  corre- 
spondence, bearing  on  the  subject,  was  in  the 
possession  of  Archbishop  Corrigan,  Secretary 
of  the  Executive  Committee  : 

Letter  to  Dr.  O'Connell 

"New  York,  Dec.  20,  1885. 
"My  Dear  Doctor: 
"I  have  both  your  notes  relative  to  the  villa 


100    History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

of  the  American  College,  and  really  have  noth- 
ing to  add  to  the  rather  extensive  correspond- 
ence already  existing  on  the  subject. 

"It  is  a  very  simple  matter  for  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Baltimore  to  ask  an  extension  of  his 
powers,  as  corporation  sole,  for  the  purpose  of 
holding  land  in  trust,  under  five  acres,  in  a  for- 
eign country.  These  powers,  I  fancy,  can  be 
had  more  easily  from  the  Legislature  of  ]\Iary- 
land,  as  being  merely  an  extension  of  those 
already  existing,  than  from  the  National  Con- 
gress. It  is  merely  a  new  branch  to  an  old 
tree,  and,  as  my  letter  of  last  February  to 
Archbishop  Gibbons  recites,  it  is  easier  to  add 
a  branch  to  a  trunk  already  existing  than  to 
create  branch  and  trunk  together. 

"We  can  get  the  necessary  powers  in  the 
New  York  Legislature  just  as  The  Board  of 
Foreign  Parishes  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  ob- 
tained a  precisely  similar  charter  in  1883,  *With 
power  to  take  title  to  church  property  in  for- 
eign countries  in  trust  for  such  parishes'  (  Laws 
of  New  York,  Chap.  257).    It  is  easier  to  do 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation       101 

this  in  Baltimore  for  the  reason  already  stated. 
Moreover,  of  the  Executive  Committee  only- 
one  person  is  a  citizen  of  New  York  State. 
The  entire  corporation  in  the  other  case  is  a 
citizen  of  ^laryland. 

"As  to  the  form  of  possessing  property, 
during  the  Council,  December  5,  1884,  the 
opinion  of  one  of  the  best  lawyers  in  Rome 
(Giordani,  see  below)  was  cited  to  show  that 
land  held  by  Americans  in  accordance  with 
American  laws  would  be  undoubtedly  re- 
spected and  recognized  by  the  Italian  Govern- 
ment. Mr.  Schulte,  on  request,  had  the  whole 
matter  carefully  investigated  in  Rome,  and  a 
legal  opinion  duly  drawn  by  Avvocato 
Giordani.  This,  I  consider,  decisive  in  the 
premises.   ..." 

OPINION   OF  AVVOCATO   GIORDANI 

"Rome,  Dec.  5, 1884. 

"To  make  safe  the  American  College  and 

villa  in  Rome  will  be  best  attended  to  by  some 

kind  of  an  incorporation,  which  is  there  called 

Fontina  and  which  consists  of  five  or  more 


102    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

members  who  as  a  solidarity  compose  one  body. 
When  a  member  dies,  his  share  will,  ipso  facto, 
go  to  the  survivors  until  the  last  member  dies 
— who  must  then  make  a  will  (testament). 
At  the  transfer  of  the  property  then,  the 
hereditary  tax  must  be  paid.  It  would  be  ad- 
visable to  take  some  young  members  into  this 
company,  in  order  to  postpone  the  taxation  as 
long  as  possible.  The  members  of  the  in- 
corporation meet  wheresoever  they  please, 
but  in  the  document  a  place  must  be  named, 
where,  in  case  of  a  lawsuit,  the  party  can  be 
sued. 

"Under  this  rubric,  the  Holy  Father  has  of 
late  incorporated  the  Collegium  Lombardi- 
cum,  and  for  the  future  the  Fontina  will  at- 
tend to  all  Catholic  property. 

"His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Merkel,  from 
whom  I  received  these  instructions,  has  writ- 
ten a  treatise  on  these  instructions  in  extensive 
form,  and  has  handed  a  copy  thereof  to  the 
Propaganda,  and  he  advises  the  Most  Rev. 
Archbishop  Corrigan  to  enter  upon  this  way 
absolutely.    The  same  information  I  have  also 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation       103 

received  from  a  lawyer,  whom  I  afterward 
consulted." 

American  College,  Rome, 
July  20,  1886. 
Most  Rev.  dear  Archbishop: 

...  I  was  hoping  from  day  to  day  to  have 
all  the  titles  of  the  property  here  to  send 
you,  with  proper  explanations.  Giordani 
was  mistaken  in  his  first  opinion  that  foreign 
corporations  needed  no  legal  recognition  to 
hold  property  in  Italy.  I  studied  up  the  ques- 
tion for  myself;  and  an  old  mutual  friend 
finally  decided  it  for  me.  The  letter  of  the 
law  does  not  exclude  it,  but  the  practice  of  the 
Court  is  against  it.  Then  the  friend,  above 
alluded  to,  settled  it  for  me  practically  by  say- 
ing, waiving  all  technicalities,  the  villa  was  per- 
fectly safe  with  an  American  title.  The  Gov- 
ernment, he  said,  will  never  make  any  diffi- 
culty, and  that  there  will  not  be  a  man  in  all 
Italy  to  question  it  because,  he  said,  the  Gov- 
ernment regards  the  villa  as  part  and  parcel 
of  the  College  and  always  incorporated,  em- 
bodied in  it.    "Only  make  your  title  good,"  he 


104   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

said,  *'in  the  eyes  of  American  law,  securing 
yourself  against  any  contingency  on  the  part 
of  the  heirs  of  the  late  proprietor,  and  you  will 
have  nothing  to  fear  from  Italian  law." 
Simply  to  make  sure,  add  or  insert;  "Saving 
any  formalities  or  requirements  of  the  law  of 
Italy."  And  that,  I  think,  is  all  right.  This 
gentleman  was  for  many  years  an  attaché  of 
the  Italian  Government  and  was  for  years  too, 
— until  pensioned  on  account  of  age — judge  of 
the  Court  of  Cassation,  the  highest  court  in 
Italy.  I  therefore  have  sent  you  the  titles  of 
the  villa,  and  I  request  to  please  have  them 
transferred  in  New  York  to  the  "American 
College."  All  agree,  in  any  case,  that  the  new 
title  is  to  be  made  out  in  America.  Besides 
these  titles,  there  are  also  titles  for  another 
small  piece  of  ground,  adjoining  the  College 
property,  that  Mgr.  Hostlot  wisely  bought  to 
exclude  nuisances.  ...  I  hope  to  send  them 
on,  and  I  request  you  to  have  the  same  transfer 
made  of  them.  .    .    . 

Your  obedient  servant  in  Christ, 

D.  J.  O'CONNELL. 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation       105 

The  Most  Rev.  M.  A.  Corrigan,  D.D. 
Archbishop  of  New  York. 

American  College,  Rome, 
Nov.  30,  1886. 

Most  Reverend  dear  Archbishop: 

Many  thanks  for  yours  of  19th  inst.  just 
received.  .  .  .  Mr.  Giordani  and  my  friend, 
the  ex- judge  of  the  Court  of  Cassation,  told  me 
the  deeds  would  have  to  be  draw^n  up  in 
America.  The  American  College  "can  not 
hold  real  estate  in  Italy,  until  the  corporation 
is  recognized  by  royal  decree,  according  to  the 
more  common  opinion,  and  it  is  by  the  saving 
clause:  'saving  any  formalities  Italian  law 
may  require,'  and  the  disposition  of  the  Gov- 
ernment not  to  interfere,  that  the  strength  of 
the  title  will  consist,  as  against  the  Italians, 
whereas  it  will  be  absolutely  firm,  as  against 
the  late  Mgr.'s  heirs."  So  they  inform  me.  If 
the  Italian  Government  says  the  title  is  in- 
formal, the  formality  could  be  repaired  after- 
ward. Father  Nilan  is  bearing  the  titles  to 
you.    I  look  for  great  difficulty  in  my  way  and 


106   History  of  the  American  College,  Rome 

expense  when  it  comes  to  the  succession  tax, 
but  that  difficulty  then.  IMake  the  title  good 
according  to  American  law,  and  put  in  the 
clause.     Etc.  etc. 

Your  most  obedient  servant  in  Christ, 

D.  J.  O'CONNELL. 

Most  Rev.  M.  A.  Corrigan,  D.D. 
Archbishop  of  New  York. 
American  College,  Castel  Gandolfo, 

Sept.  26,  1888. 

Most  Rev.  dear  Archbishop  : 

Your  favor  of  the  14th  inst.,  together  with 
the  papers  of  transfer  of  the  titles  of  the  Col- 
lege property  has  just  come  to  hand,  and  I 
beg  to  thank  you  in  my  own  name  and  in  the 
name  of  the  College  for  the  same,  and  for  the 
vast  amount  of  labor  which  they  evidence. 
And  I  hope  I  may  make  free  to  ask  you  to 
express  our  thanks  to  the  good  family  of  Mgr. 
Hostlot. 

I  have  not  read  the  documents  yet,  but  I 
presume  from  the  great  care  given  them  they 
must  be  completely  in  order.    If  there  be  any- 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation        107 

thing  to  remark  I  hope  to  communicate  it  to 
you  later. 

I  beg  further  to  return  my  cordial  thanks 
for  your  kind  expression  of  good  wishes  to- 
ward the  College,  and  to  myself,  and  to  be- 
lieve me  as  ever 

Your  most  obedient  servant  in  Christ, 

D.  J.  O'CONNELL, 

Rector. 

The  Most  Rev.  M.  A.  Corrigan  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  New  York. 
Secretary  of  Ex.  Committee,  Am.  College. 

AN  ACT  TO  INCORPORATE  THE  AMERICAN   COL- 
LEGE OF  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES^ 

Sec.  1. — Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  As- 
sembly of  Maryland,  That  James  Gibbons, 
Archbishop  of  Baltimore;  Patrick  J.  Ryan, 
Archbishop  of  Philadelphia;  Michael  A.  Cor- 
rigan, Archbishop  of  New  York;  and  John  J. 
Williams,  Archbishop  of  Boston,  be  and  they 
are  hereby  constituted  a  body  corporate  by  the 

^Extracted  from  the  Laws  of  Maryland,  c.  xxix,  p.  35, 


108    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

name  of  "The  American  College  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  of  the  United  States,"  and  by 
that  name  shall  have  perpetual  succession,  the 
right  to  sue  and  be  sued,  the  right  to  contract 
and  be  contracted  with,  to  make  and  use  a 
common  seal  and  to  alter  the  same  at  pleasure, 
and  may  acquire,  have,  hold,  possess,  use  and 
enjoy  upon  the  trust  and  for  the  uses  and  pur- 
poses of  said  corporation,  by  purchase,  gift, 
grant,  devise  or  bequest,  personal,  real  and 
mixed  property  and  estate,  wheresoever  the 
same  may  be  situate  or  being,  whether  within 
or  without  the  State  of  Maryland,  and  may 
at  pleasure  assign,  transfer,  sell,  lease,  grant, 
alien,  and  convey  any  and  all  of  said  property 
and  estate. 

Sec.  2. — And  be  it  enacted.  That  the  prin- 
cipal office  of  said  corporation  shall  be  in  the 
City  of  Baltimore,  in  the  State  of  INIaryland. 

Sec.  3. — And  be  it  enacted.  That  the  object 
and  purposes  of  said  corporation  are  the  edu- 
cation of  young  men,  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  for  the  ministry  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church;  and  in  order  that  said  object  and  pur- 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation       109 

poses  may  be  obtained,  the  said  corporation  is 
hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  use  and 
employ  its  aforesaid  property  and  estate,  and 
the  income  thereof  in  payment  and  in  liquida- 
tion of  such  charges  and  expenses  as  may  be 
incurred  in  the  education,  maintenance,  and 
support  of  said  young  men  in  preparing  for  the 
ministry  in  said  Church,  either  within  or  with- 
out the  State  of  Maryland,  and  especially  at 
or  near  the  City  of  Rome,  in  the  Kingdom  of 
Italy. 

Sec.  4. — And  be  it  enacted.  That  the  gov- 
ernment of  said  corporation  and  the  manage- 
ment of  its  business  and  affairs  are  hereby 
vested  in  the  persons  whose  names  are  par- 
ticularly mentioned  in  the  first  section  of  this 
Act,  and  their  successors  to  be  chosen  as  here- 
inafter provided  for,  and  if  at  any  time  here- 
after the  number  of  the  Board  of  Governors 
so  constituted  shall  be  increased  as  provided  in 
this  Act,  then  the  person  or  person  thus 
chosen  shall  have  and  exercise  equal  authority 
and  continue  in  office  for  the  same  period  with 
those  whose  names  shall  appear  in  this  Act  and 


110   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

their  successors;  that  the  said  Board  of  Gov- 
ernors shall  hold  office  for  the  period  of  their 
several  and  respective  lives,  unless  sooner  re- 
moved by  a  majority  vote  of  said  Board;  or 
in  the  event  of  a  vacancy  occurring  in  said 
Board  by  death,  resignation  or  otherwise,  the 
same  shall  be  filled  by  said  Board;  but  a 
failure  to  elect  a  member  or  members  to 
fill  a  vacancy  or  vacancies  occurring  in  said 
Board  shall  not  work  a  forfeiture  of  this 
Charter  or  of  the  privileges  hereby  granted, 
or  a  dissolution  of  the  Corporation  hereby 
created. 

Sec.  5. — And  be  it  enacted.  That  the  said 
Board  of  Governors  of  said  Corporation  be 
and  they  are  hereby  authorized  to  elect  a 
President  who  shall  be  chosen  from  among  the 
members  of  said  Board,  and  appoint  such 
officers  and  agents  as  they  may  deem  neces- 
sary, and  shall  have  power  to  adopt  and  en- 
force a  constitution  and  by-laws,  rules  and 
regulations,  not  inconsistent  with  the  Consti- 
tution and  Laws  of  the  United  States  or  of 
this  State,  as  may  be  deemed  advisable  for  the 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation       111 

government  of  the  business  and  affairs  of  said 
corporation  and  for  the  regulation  of  the  ac- 
tion of  said  Board,  its  officers  and  agents,  and 
the  discharge  of  its  and  their  respective  duties 
in  executing  and  carrying  into  effect  the  object 
and  purposes  of  this  Act. 

Sec.  6. — And  be  it  enacted.  That  if  at  any- 
time hereafter  the  said  Board  of  Governors 
may  deem  it  advisable,  in  the  interest  of  said 
corporation,  to  increase  the  number  of  mem- 
bers of  said  Board,  as  now  constituted,  they 
are  at  liberty  so  to  do,  and  for  such  purposes 
they  are  hereby  authorized  and  empowered, 
from  time  to  time,  and  at  such  times  as  they 
may  think  proper,  to  add  to  and  increase  the 
number  of  said  Board  of  Governors  by  elect- 
ing thereto  some  suitable  person  or  persons  as 
members  thereof;  but  the  whole  number  of 
members  of  said  Board  shall  at  no  time  ex- 
ceed eight  in  number. 

Sec.  7. — And  be  it  enacted,  That  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  Maryland  reserves  to  itself 
the  right  to  alter,  amend,  or  repeal  this  act,  or 
any  part  thereof,  at  its  pleasure. 


112    History  of  the  American  College.Eome 

Sec.  8. — And  be  it  enacted,  That  this  Act 
shall  take  effect  from  the  date  of  its  passage. 

Approved  March  18,  1886. 

According  to  an  extract  from  a  letter  writ- 
ten on  Nov.  10,  1886,  by  Bishop  Donahue  of 
Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  then  secretary  to  the 
Cardinal- Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  to  Bishop 
McDonnell,  then  secretary  to  the  Archbishop 
of  New  York,  we  are  informed  that  ''the  origi- 
nals of  the  papers  or  certified  duplicates  were, 
after  being  attested  and  fully  authenticated  by 
Secretary  Bayard  at  Washington,  transmitted 
in  due  course  to  Dr.  O'Connell  on  or  about 
April  9,  1886." 

EXTRACTS  FROM  AN  ARTICLE  ON   "tHE  AMERI- 
CAN COLLEGE  IN  ROME"  IN  "tHE  CATHOLIC 
ENCYCLOPEDIA,"   BY  THE  AUTHOR 

During  the  Vatican  Council,  the  American 
prelates  in  Rome  decided  that  the  property  of 
the  College  should  remain  in  the  hands  of  the 
Sacred  Congregation  of  Propaganda.  With 
regard  to  the  burses  or  scholarships  founded,  it 
was  agreed  that  when  they  were  vacant,  one- 


Progress  Since  Its  Foundation       113 

half  of  the  proceeds  should  go  to  the  College 
and  the  other  half  to  the  diocese  to  which  the 
burse  belonged.  There  are  now  82  (1909) 
burses  founded  in  the  College. 

Under  Dr.  Kennedy's  rectorship,  property 
adjoining  the  College  was  purchased  in  No- 
vember, 1903,  at  a  cost  of  $50,000. 

At  the  present  time,  January  1,  1910,  the 
number  of  students  in  the  college  total  147. 
They  attend  the  lectures  and  are  subject  to  the 
academic  regulations  of  the  Urban  College  of 
Propaganda.  The  curriculum  of  the  last- 
named  institution  comprises  a  two-years' 
course  in  philosophy  and  a  four-years'  course 
in  theology.  Supplementary  lectures  are  given 
in  the  American  College  on  the  subjects 
treated  in  Propaganda. 

The  College  has  an  alumni  association  in  the 
United  States  comprising  two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  members  out  of  four  hundred  and 
fifty  students  who  have  been  ordained  in  the 
College.  This  alumni  association  made  a  con- 
tribution of  $25,000  to  the  fund  for  the  recent 
acquisition  of  new  property  by  the  College. 


114   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

The  administration  of  the  College  is  con- 
trolled by  a  Board  of  Trustees  composed  of 
the  Archbishops  of  Baltimore,  Boston,  New 
York,  and  Philadelphia.  Its  internal  man- 
agement and  discipline  are  entrusted  to  the 
Rector,  who  is  assisted  by  the  Vice-Rector  and 
by  the  Spiritual  Director. 

Besides  the  late  Archbishop  Corrigan  of 
New  York,  the  following  American  prelates, 
who  are  still  living,  studied  theology  in  the 
College:  Archbishops  Farley  of  New  York; 
Moeller  of  Cincinnati;  O'Connell  of  Boston; 
Bishops  Richter  of  Grand  Rapids;  Burke  of 
St.  Joseph,  Mo.;  Farrelly  of  Cleveland; 
INIcDonnell  of  Brooklyn;  Hoban  of  Scranton; 
Dougherty  of  Nueva  Segovia,  P.  I.;  Morris 
of  Little  Rock. 

Pope  Leo  XIII,  by  his  brief,  Uhi  primum, 
raised  the  College  to  the  rank  of  a  pontifical 
college,  on  October  25,  1884. 


CHAPTER   V 

PART    I 

OUR  LADY  OF  GUADALUPE  IN  ESTRAMADURA, 
SPAIN^ 

A   s  THE  image  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe 
is  specially  venerated  in  the  American 
College,  the  following  digression  will  not  be 
uninteresting  to  the  reader. 

Of  all  the  numerous  shrines  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  venerated  throughout  the  Spanish 
Peninsula,  that  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe 
is  probably  the  most  familiar  to  Americans. 
The  discoverer  of  the  New  World,  thinking 
that  he  saw  a  resemblance  between  the  hilly 
scenery  of  one  of  the  Antilles  and  the  craggy 
mountains  of  Estramadura,  which  surround 
the  sanctuary  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  gave 
the  island  this  name.  Wherever  the  Castilian 
adventurers,  led  by  the  conqueror  of  Mexico, 

^By  the  late  Archbishop  of  New  York,  Most  Rev.  M.  A. 
Corrigan,  D.D. 

115 


116   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

carried  their  standards,  devotion  to  the  Mother 
of  God  under  this  title  became  popular,  for 
Hernando  Cortes  was  a  native  of  Estramadura 
and  lisped  his  first  prayers  before  the  image 
of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  to  whose  protec- 
tion he  commended  himself  before  setting  out 
on  his  expedition  to  find  new  kingdoms  for 
Spain.  When  he  died,  alone  and  abandoned 
by  all  but  a  few  followers,  forgotten  by  the 
monarch  to  whom  he  had  given  "more  prov- 
inces than  he  had  inherited  towns  from  his  fore- 
fathers," a  picture  of  Our  Lady  of  Guada- 
lupe was  clasped  in  his  hand,  and  was  the 
last  object  on  which  his  eyes  rested. 

It  is  said  that  the  mountains  of  Estrama- 
dura were  formerly  infested  by  robbers;  and 
for  this  reason  the  stream  that  springs  from 
the  highest  peak  of  Altamira  was  called  by 
the  Arabs,  in  a  mixed  dialect,  *'Guadalupe," 
or  river  of  the  wolf.  In  time  the  name  was 
applied  to  the  surrounding  territory;  and  in 
the  town  of  Guadalupe  may  still  be  seen  the 
famous  edifice  begun  in  the  fourteenth  century 
to  shelter  the  image  of  the  Mother  of  God, 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  117 

miraculously  discovered  by  a  peasant  after  it 
had  lain  hidden  in  the  earth  for  six  centuries. 

According  to  Padre  Mariana  and  other 
Spanish  historians,  this  image  was  venerated 
as  early  as  the  fourth  century,  although  we  do 
not  hear  of  it  definitely  until  the  sixth  century, 
when  it  was  sent  to  Spain  as  a  gift  from  St. 
Gregory  the  Great  to  St.  Leander,  Archbishop 
of  Seville,  whom  he  had  met  at  Constantinople 
and  with  whom  he  had  there  formed  a  life-long 
friendship. 

In  the  year  589,  all  the  bishops  of  Spain  met 
in  a  general  council  at  Toledo  when  the  king, 
Reccared,  solemnly  abjured  Arianism,  and 
proclaimed  the  Catholic  religion  the  religion  of 
Spain.  At  this  time,  St.  Gregory,  who  was 
contemplating  the  conversion  of  England,  re- 
quested Leander  to  come  to  Rome  to  assist  him 
with  his  advice  on  this  and  other  important 
matters;  but  Leander,  being  unable  to  leave  his 
country  at  such  a  critical  period,  sent  his  tal- 
ented younger  brother,  St.  Isidore,  whose  sanc- 
tity and  knowledge  were  most  useful  to  the 
Holy  Father  in  his  great  and  glorious  enter- 


118   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

prises  for  the  diffusion  of  Christianity.  When 
Isidore  returned  to  Spain,  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff sent  by  him  two  presents  to  his  friend 
Leander,  a  copy  of  his  own  work,  "Moral 
Commentaries  on  Job,"  and  an  image  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  which  he  had  kept  in  his 
private  oratory  for  years,  and  which,  on  his  ac- 
cession to  the  Papal  throne,  he  had  commanded 
to  be  carried  at  the  head  of  a  procession 
through  the  streets  of  Rome,  where  the  terrible 
plague  that  had  caused  the  death  of  his  prede- 
cessor, Pelagius  II,  was  raging,  and  which 
ceased  from  that  hour. 

When  Isidore  arrived  at  Seville  with  his 
treasure,  St.  Leander  and  the  entire  population 
of  the  city  received  with  reverence  the  holy 
image  confided  to  their  keeping  by  the  saintly 
Pope  ;  and  for  one  hundred  and  fourteen  years 
it  remained  exposed  to  the  veneration  of  the 
faithful,  until  the  monarchy  of  the  Goths  was 
overthrown  by  the  defeat  and  death  of  the 
luckless  king,  Don  Roderick,  and  Spain  was 
overrun  by  hordes  of  Arabs  who,  intoxicated 
with  victory  and  raging  with  fury  against  their 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  119 

Christian  foes,  rushed  into  every  province  with 
fire  and  sword,  destroying  and  killing  wherever 
they  went. 

Seville,  the  richest  and  the  most  important 
city  of  the  south,  was  one  of  the  first  to  feel  the 
hatred  of  the  fanatic  conqueror.  As  soon  as 
the  fatal  news  of  the  king's  defeat  was  re- 
ceived, the  terrified  Christians  fled  in  all  direc- 
tions. The  peasant  deserted  his  cottage,  the 
nobleman  abandoned  his  palace  and  his  court- 
yards filled  with  orange  trees,  and  the  monk 
rushed  from  his  cloister,  all  actuated  by  the 
same  motives,  to  escape  from  the  fury  of  the 
infidel  who  pillaged,  destroyed,  and  slew  as  he 
swept  through  the  lovely  valleys  and  rich  cities 
of  Andalusia.  Images  were  torn  from  their 
niches,  sacred  vessels  and  relics  hurriedly 
snatched  from  the  altars,  and  even  the  bodies 
of  saints  carried  away  in  their  cofiins  by  the 
clergy,  who  devoted  all  their  energies  to  saving 
objects  of  devotion  so  dear  to  the  Christians. 
The  cherished  image  of  the  Virgin,  which 
Gregory  the  Great  had  sent  to  his  friend  Lean- 
der  more  than  a  century  before,  was  carefully 


120   History  of  the  American  College,  Rome 

borne  at  the  head  of  the  flying  multitude,  who 
passed  through  Castile  and  entered  the  prov- 
ince of  Estramadura  after  a  long  and  tedious 
journey,  during  which  they  were  constantly 
attacked  by  the  enemy  and  their  numbers 
greatly  diminished.  Many  died  from  exposure 
and  fatigue,  or  dropped  by  the  wayside  un- 
noticed by  their  companions,  who  missed  them 
only  when  daylight  dawned,  for  they  had  to 
travel  during  the  night  and  hide  in  the  day- 
time, and  at  each  succeeding  sunrise  num- 
bers of  familiar  faces  were  looked  for  in 
vain. 

A  sorrowful  band  of  fugitives  gathered  one 
day  at  early  dawn  at  the  foot  of  a  rugged 
mountain  in  Estramadura,  and  after  a  long 
and  careful  search  they  found  a  cave  which 
seemed  to  them  a  safe  and  proper  place  in 
which  to  hide  their  treasures,  and  there  they 
deposited  the  relics  and  the  image  of  Our 
Lady,  placing  in  a  casket  with  them  a  docu- 
ment which  gave  an  exact  account  of  their 
proceedings.  This  was  signed  by  the  clergy 
and  by  all  the  persons  of  distinction  present. 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  121 

All  then  knelt  to  say  a  last  prayer  before  the 
sacred  image,  and  with  hands  raised  to  Heaven 
made  a  solemn  vow  to  resist  the  infidel  and  to 
shed  their  last  drop  of  blood  for  their  coun- 
try and  religion.  After  piling  stones  and 
brushwood  over  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  they 
marched  away  to  join  the  straggling  remains 
of  the  Gothic  army  that  had  succeeded  in 
escaping  to  the  mountains  of  Asturias  with 
Pelayo,  whose  dauntless  heroism  was  destined 
to  raise  again  the  standard  of  the  Cross  over 
the  crescent  of  the  infidel. 

For  more  than  six  centuries  the  image  re- 
mained undisturbed  in  the  cave  of  Guada- 
lupe, until  in  the  year  1326  it  was  discovered, 
according  to  tradition,  in  a  miraculous  manner 
by  a  cowherd  named  Gil,  a  native  of  Caceres, 
who,  having  lost  one  of  his  cows,  searched  for 
it  among  the  mountains  for  three  days  without 
ceasing.  Worn  out  at  last  with  fatigue  and 
thirst,  and  hearing  the  murmur  of  water,  he 
made  his  way  through  the  thick  bushes  until  he 
came  to  a  stream  that  ran  down  the  side  of  the 
mountain.    To  his  astonishment  he  found  the 


122    History  of  the  American  College, Ro7ne 

cow  lying  there  on  a  heap  of  stones,  apparently- 
dead.  Being  unable  to  remove  the  animal,  he 
decided  to  take  its  hide,  which  he  could  sell; 
he  therefore  made  an  incision  on  the  cow's 
breast  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  when  it  sprang 
up  as  though  it  had  suddenly  been  restored  to 
life.  The  man,  frightened  at  what  he  thought 
a  miracle,  was  unable  to  move  ;  and  as  he  stood 
gazing  at  the  cow  in  silent  wonder,  he  saw  a 
lady  of  marvelous  beauty  come  toward  him, 
who  spoke  to  him  kindly  and  bade  him  go  to 
the  clergy  and  people  of  Caceres,  and  tell  them 
that  under  the  stones  on  which  he  had  found 
his  cow  lying  was  a  cave  wherein  they  would 
find  an  image  of  the  Mother  of  God,  whose 
will  it  was  that  they  should  build  a  chapel  on 
that  spot,  which  would  become  one  of  the  most 
famous  temples  in  the  world. 

The  ignorant  cowherd  had  some  difficulty  in 
persuading  the  dignitaries  of  the  village  to 
believe  his  story;  but  seeing  him  give  way  to 
despair  at  their  incredulity,  and  knowing  that 
many  treasures  of  the  Christians  had  been  hid- 
den after  the  conquest  of  Spain  by  the  Arabs, 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  123 

they  acceded  to  his  earnest  entreaties,  and  the 
whole  village,  headed  by  priests,  knights,  and 
noblemen,  followed  the  cowherd  in  procession. 
When  they  reached  the  spot  where  he  had 
found  the  lost  cow,  they  dug  away  the  stones 
until  the  entrance  to  a  small  cave  was  found, 
in  which  they  discovered  the  image  of  the  Vir- 
gin in  as  perfect  condition  as  if  it  had  lain  there 
but  six  days  instead  of  six  long  centuries. 
They  also  found  the  document,  stating  the 
facts  of  the  concealing  of  the  image,  the  relics 
of  St.  Fulgentius  and  St.  Fiorentina,  and  near 
them  a  small  bell,  such  as  is  used  at  the 
Mass. 

A  rude  hut  was  quickly  constructed,  and  an 
humble  altar  of  stones  erected  on  which  was 
placed  the  newly  found  image,  known  from 
that  time  as  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  from 
the  fact  of  its  having  been  discovered  near  the 
source  of  the  river  of  that  name.  In  a  short 
time  the  city  of  Caceres  built  a  small  chapel  on 
the  spot;  and  the  bell  found  in  the  cave  was 
melted,  the  metal  divided  into  parts,  mixed 
with   other   metal,   and   cast   into   two   bells 


124    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

which  called  the  faithful  to  prayers  at  the 
shrine,  and  which  are  still  preserved  in  the 
present  edifice. 

The  reigning  king  of  Castile  at  that  time 
was  Alfonso  XI,  who  gained  honorable  dis- 
tinction among  the  kings  of  the  fourteenth 
century  as  a  patron  of  letters  and  of  the  fine 
arts.  It  was  he  who  founded  the  post  of  royal 
chronicler,  whose  successors  in  their  various 
cronicas  have  left  those  abundant  records 
which  afford  such  interesting  reading  to  the 
student  of  Spanish  history.  When  the  news 
of  this  wonderful  discovery  of  the  image  sent 
by  Gregory  the  Great  to  Leander  of  Seville 
reached  the  king,  he  determined  to  visit  the 
spot  as  soon  as  the  duties  of  state  would  per- 
mit, and  in  the  meantime  he  ordered  the  chapel 
to  be  much  enlarged,  endowing  it  with  a  lib- 
eral rental,  and  placing  there  six  chaplains  and 
a  prior.  In  1338  he  gave  lands  for  the  main- 
tenance of  its  clergy  and  for  a  hospital,  which 
still  exists  and  which  had  been  erected  near 
the  church  four  years  after  the  discovery  of 
the  statue.    The  hospital  was  dedicated  to  St. 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  125 

John  the  Baptist  and  was  built  for  the  recep- 
tion of  all  kinds  of  sick  persons,  except  in- 
curables. It  contained  eighty  beds,  and  was 
well  equipped  with  a  corps  of  doctors,  sur- 
geons, and  nurses.  He  also  commanded  a 
small  town  to  be  built,  the  present  town  of 
Guadalupe,  and  give  land  to  the  residents  for 
the  erection  of  fifty  houses  near  the  church, 
with  vineyards  and  orchards,  free  of  all  rent  or 
taxation  except  the  tenth  of  the  produce,  which 
had  to  be  divided  between  the  church  and  the 
hospital.  The  first  to  occupy  one  of  these 
houses  was  the  cowherd,  Gil,  whom  the  king 
ennobled  with  the  title  of  Don  Gil  de  Santa 
Maria  de  Guadalupe.  His  former  cabin  was 
repaired  and  has  been  carefully  preserved  ever 
since,  the  coat-of-arms,  placed  over  the  door  by 
the  king's  orders  in  memory  of  the  discovery, 
being  still  intact. 

The  church  was  constantly  enriched  with 
presents  from  kings  and  nobles  ;  and  so  many 
persons  of  royal  blood  visited  the  sanctuary, 
that  a  palace  was  built  near  it,  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  for  their  accommodation. 


126   Ilistonj  of  the  American  College.Eome 

The  Church  contains  many  works  of  art, 
among  others  paintings  by  Zm'baran  and 
Luca  Jordan.  And  the  famous  image  is 
placed  upon  a  handsome  throne  of  solid  silver; 
it  is  composed  of  an  oriental  wood  that  has 
proved  impervious  to  time,  and  shows  no  sign 
of  decay  or  of  ravage  by  worms  or  other  in- 
sects. Kings,  queens,  princes,  and  nobles  have 
vied  with  one  another  in  giving  rich  presents 
to  the  sanctuary  of  Guadalupe;  but  through 
war  and  other  causes  many  of  these  valuable 
objects  have  disappeared. 

In  1622  there  burned  continually  in  the 
church  eighty-five  lamps  of  gold  and  silver, 
donated  by  kings  and  princes  ;  one  of  the  rich- 
est of  these  was  presented  in  1562  by  Philip  II 
as  a  thank-offering  for  the  recovery  of  his  son, 
Don  Carlos,  from  a  dangerous  illness,  the  same 
son  whose  death  six  years  later  shocked  the 
whole  of  Europe.  In  1571,  after  the  cele- 
brated battle  of  Lepanto,  Don  John  of  Austria 
sent  to  Guadalupe  a  beautiful  lamp  of  cop- 
per, thickly  overlaid  with  gold,  taken  from  the 
galley  "Capitana."    Another  of  these  magnifi- 


OUR    LADY    OF    GUADALUPE,     ESTRAMADURA,    SPAIN 


Our  Lady  of  Guadaliqw  127 

cent  lamps  was  the  gift  of  Hernando  Cortes, 
the  conqueror  of  Mexico. 

Around  the  spacious  naves  of  the  church  are 
the  tombs  of  many  illustrious  persons  who  dur- 
ing their  lives  were  most  zealous  patrons  of  this 
once  magnificent  temple,  and  whose  last  wish 
was  to  be  buried  within  its  walls.  Among  them 
are  Henry  IV  of  Castile,  who  saw  his  people 
rise  up  against  him  and  place  his  crown  on 
the  head  of  his  sister,  Isabella  the  Catholic. 
Opposite  him  lies  his  mother,  Dona  Maria, 
daughter  of  the  King  of  Aragon,  Ferdi- 
nand I.  Here  also  lie  Dionisio,  Prince  of 
Portugal,  and  his  wife,  the  Infanta  Juana, 
daughter  of  Henry  II  of  Castile;  and  many 
others.  However,  the  one  that  excites  most 
of  the  interest  of  the  visitor  is  that  of  the  cow- 
herd, Gil,  situated  under  the  arch  leading  to 
the  sacristy.  Near  it  is  the  tomb  of  the  last 
prior  of  Guadalupe,  Don  Juan  Serrano, 
Bishop  of  Segovia,  who  persuaded  the  king, 
Don  John  I,  to  place  the  sanctuary  in  the  care 
of  the  friars  of  St.  Jerome,  which  he  did  on 
September  1,  1389;  the  effigy  of  Don  Juan 


128   History  of  the  American  College.Rorne 

Serrano   in  white   marble,  in  full  pontifical 
robes,  lies  upon  the  tomb. 


PART    II 


OUR  LADY  OF  GUADALUPE  IN  MEXICO 

(The  Historical  Evidence  Reviewed  by  the  Late 
Most  Rev.  M.  A.  Corrigan,  D.D.) 

npHE  month  of  December,  1531,  marks  a  fate- 
ful and  blessed  epoch  in  the  annals  of 
Mexican  Christianity.  The  truths  of  the  Gos- 
pel had  already  been  preached  from  the  old 
pulpit,  which  is  still  in  use  in  St.  Francis* 
Church  at  Tlascala;  but  the  work  of  conversion 
proceeded  with  comparative  slowness.  After 
the  month  of  December,  1531,  so  many  con- 
verts sought  the  waters  of  Baptism,  that  at 
times  a  single  priest  baptized  four,  five,  and  six 
thousand  Indians  a  day." 

Father  Peter  of  Ghent — more  illustrious  for 
his  devotion  to  Our  Blessed  Lady  than  he  was 

'Mendieta's    Indian    Ecclesiastical    History;    Mexico,    1870, 
bk.  iii,  c.  XXXV,  p.  266. 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  129 

for  the  noble  blood  of  the  kings  of  Scotland, 
said  to  have  coursed  through  his  veins — bap- 
tized with  his  own  hands  over  a  million  ab- 
origines/ 

In  fine,  during  the  space  of  eight  years,  from 
1531  to  1539,  the  Franciscan  Fathers  received 
more  than  nine  million  Indians  into  the  Cath- 
olic Church." 

The  cause  of  these  conversions,  according  to 
Hubert  Howe  Bancroft,^  was  the  miraculous 
apparition  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe. 

THE    STORY   OF  THE   APPARITION 

On  Saturday,  December  9,  1531,  an  Indian 
neophyte,  who  had  received  in  Baptism  the 
name  of  Juan  Diego,  started  on  foot,  accord- 
ing to  his  custom,  from  his  home  in  the  country, 
nine  miles  distant,  to  the  Franciscan  church  of 
Santiago  Tlaltelolco,  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  to 
hear  Mass  in  honor  of  Our  Lady  and  to  assist 
at  the  catechetical  instruction  which  was  given 

^F.  X.  Alegre,  S.J.,  History  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  New 
Spain,  bk.  iii,  p.  180. 

^Motolinia,  History  of  the  Indians,  1542,  tr.  ii,  c.  ii. 
^History  of  Mexico,  San  Francisco,  1883,  vol.  ii,  c.  xix,  p.  403. 


130   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

once  a  week  to  recent  converts.  While  passing 
by  a  hill  called  Tepeyac,  Juan  Diego  heard  a 
delightful  concert  of  birds,  such  as  he  had 
never  heard  before,  and  looking  upward,  be- 
held a  lady  of  sweet  and  gentle  mien,  with 
features  known  to  us  as  those  of  the  Virgin 
of  Guadalupe.  Our  Lady  spoke  to  him  in  en- 
dearing terms,  and  bade  him  to  make  known 
to  the  Bishop  of  Mexico  that  she  desired  a 
church  to  be  built  on  that  spot  in  her  honor, 
and  that  she  would  be  a  kind  and  loving  mother 
to  the  poor  Indians  and  to  all  who  would  in- 
voke her  aid.  It  may  be  remarked  in  passing 
that  in  the  original  JNIexican  account,  on  which 
all  the  subsequent  narratives  are  based,  the 
terms  used  both  by  Our  Lady  and  Juan  Diego 
are  affectionate  and  tender.  Mexican  scholars 
state  that  such  is  the  genius  of  their  language, 
and  that  these  terms  of  endearment  in  no  wise 
detract  from  the  spirit  of  reverence  due  from 
an  inferior  to  one  in  high  station,  nor  from  the 
majest}^  of  a  sovereign  in  speaking  to  one  of 
humble  rank. 

Juan  Diego  sought  the  bishop,  and  deliv- 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  131 

ered  his  message;  but  the  prudent  prelate, 
while  preserving  a  kindly  manner,  evidently 
attached  no  great  importance  to  the  incident. 
Returning  to  his  native  village,  Juan  Diego 
again  beheld  the  sovereign  Lady,  and  frankly 
narrated  his  want  of  success,  begging  at  the 
same  time  that  she  would  deign  to  choose  a 
worthier  subject  to  execute  her  commands. 
Our  Lady  bade  Juan  Diego  return  a  second 
time  to  the  bishop,  and  to  repeat  the  message 
already  delivered.  This  he  did,  on  Decem- 
ber 10th,  but  with  no  better  result.  The  bishop 
asked  him  for  some  manifestation  of  Our 
Lady's  power,  to  serve  as  his  credentials;  and 
in  his  simple  faith,  Juan  Diego  at  once  prom- 
ised that  he  would  bring  some  sure  sign  to 
prove  the  truth  of  his  message.  On  his  way 
home,  at  Tepeyac,  he  was  favored  with  another 
celestial  apparition,  and  assured  that  he  would 
receive  some  sign,  as  requested,  on  his  next 
visit  to  the  city.  But  on  reaching  home  he 
found  that  his  uncle,  Juan  Bernardino,  was 
grievously  ill  with  a  dangerous  fever;  and  on 
the  following  Monday  morning,  it  was  judged 


132    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

necessary  to  administer  to  the  sick  man  the  con- 
solations of  religion.  Juan  Diego  sought  the 
parish  church  by  another  route,  thinking,  in  his 
simplicity,  he  would  thereby  escape  the  celestial 
lady,  whose  commission  it  would  suffice  to  exe- 
cute later;  but  suddenly  the  Virgin  Immacu- 
late again  appeared  to  him,  desiring  him  to  go 
to  a  part  of  the  hill  which  he  knew  to  be  full 
of  thorns  and  briars,  and  there  (in  the  month 
of  December),  to  gather  the  roses  and  other 
flowers  that  he  would  find  growing  in  pro- 
fusion. Obeying,  he  culled  the  flowers  that 
miraculously  appeared,  and  which  Our  Lady 
with  her  own  hands  formed  into  a  bouquet,  and 
placed  them  in  his  tilma  (a  species  of  cloak 
or  wrap),  bidding  him  carry  them  to  the 
bishop,  and  allow  no  one  else  to  take  them. 
She  also  bade  him  not  to  be  disquieted  about 
his  uncle's  illness,  for  she  had  already  cured 
him — as  was  afterwards  found  to  be  the  case. 
The  servants  at  the  bishop's  house,  perceiving 
the  odor  of  flowers,  attempted  to  appropriate 
some  of  them;  but  failing  in  the  effort,  an- 
nounced Juan's  reappearance  with  the  gift  of 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalujie  1 33 

flowers.  In  the  bishop's  presence  Juan  Diego 
narrated  what  had  happened  since  his  last 
visit  ;  and  releasing  the  flowers  from  his  cloak, 
unfolded  it,  and  as  he  did  so  there  appeared  on 
its  surface  a  wonderfully  beautiful  picture  of 
the  Madonna,  the  same  which  has  been  pre- 
served with  reverent  and  loving  care  during 
the  last  three  hundred  and  sixty-four  years  in 
the  Basilica  of  Guadalupe. 

PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  PAINTING 

Some  idea  of  this  painting  may  be  formed 
from  the  accompanying  engraving. 

We  will  not  attempt  to  describe  its  surpass- 
ing beauty,  but  merely  pause  to  note  certain 
distinct  characteristics.  The  material  on  which 
the  image  is  formed  is  a  coarse  product  of  the 
maguey  plant,  such  as  is  still  used  by  the  In- 
dians for  their  wraps,  and  for  other  domestic 
purposes.  The  image  is  painted  on  this  rough 
canvas,  without  any  sizing  or  preparation;  in 
fact,  the  canvas  is  transparent,  the  same  image 
showing  on  both  sides.  At  various  times  the 
picture  has  been  examined  by  a  committee  of 


134   History  of  the  American  College.Eovie 

experts,  composed  of  distinguished  artists  and 
scientific  men,  and  they  have  deposed  under 
oath  that  they  could  not  account  either  for  its 
production  or  for  its  preservation.  The  image 
exhibits  peculiar  characteristics  of  painting  in 
oil,  in  water-color,  in  distemper,  and  in  relief  ; 
in  fact,  these  four  dissimilar  kinds  of  painting 
are  discernible  in  different  portions  of  the  same 
canvas.  And  in  addition  to  this,  the  gilding 
which  appears  on  the  stars  embroidered  on  the 
garment  of  Our  Lady,  and  in  the  texture  of 
the  robe  itself,  as  well  as  in  the  rays  of  light 
which  issue  from  the  figure,  is  not  applied  ac- 
cording to  any  known  process,  and  seems 
rather  to  have  been  woven  into  the  fabric  than 
painted  on  it.  Apart  from  the  curious  com- 
mingling of  dissimilar  kinds  of  painting  on  the 
same  canvas,  there  is  this  other  peculiarity 
about  the  picture:  for  years  it  was  exposed 
without  any  covering,  not  only  to  the  smoke 
of  censers  and  innumerable  candles,  but  also 
to  the  damp  air,  charged  with  saltpeter,  which 
continually  arises  from  the  neighboring  lakes 
and  marshes,  and  which  affects  and  corrodes 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  1 35 

the  hardest  substances  ;  and  yet,  after  a  period 
of  more  than  three  hundred  and  sixty  years, 
this  product  of  the  maguey  plant  (which  ought 
to  have  perished  long  ago)  is  still  in  a  state 
of  perfect  preservation.  This  is  the  more  re- 
markable because  experiments  have  been  tried 
in  the  same  locality  with  similar  material,  but 
with  very  different  results.  An  able  artist, 
Don  Rafael  Gutierrez,  took  a  fine  tilma,  Sep- 
tember 12,  1789,  and  painted  on  it  a  facsimile 
of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe;  when  finished, 
it  was  protected  by  a  glass  cover,  and  placed 
in  the  neighboring  chapel,  Del  Bocito.  The 
result  was  that  before  eight  years  elapsed,  it 
was  so  discolored  and  disfigured  by  the  fumes 
of  the  saltpeter  that  it  was  found  necessary  to 
withdraw  it  from  public  view,  and  relegate  it 
to  the  sacristy.  This  was  done  on  June  8, 1796. 
The  colors  had  meanwhile  faded  or  disap- 
peared. The  gilding  had  become  tarnished,  en- 
crusted with  mold,  or  had  fallen  off;  and  the 
threads  of  the  canvas  had  become  exposed, 
bare,  and  in  some  places  quite  disintegrated.' 

'The  Virgin  of  Tepeyac,  Dr.  Bortolache,  p.  143. 


136   History  of  the  American  Collegejlome 

AUTHENTICITY  OF  THE  APPARITIONS 

The  great  proof  of  the  authenticity  of  these 
apparitions  is  the  constant  and  uninterrupted 
tradition,  bearing  all  the  marks  of  credibility, 
accepted  by  all  classes  of  people,  and  extend- 
ing from  the  days  of  Juan  Diego  to  our  own 
time.  This  tradition  twice  has  been  officially 
examined  and  approved  by  the  Holy  See. 
Only  last  year,  after  a  long  and  most  searching 
examination.  Pope  Leo  XIII  granted  a  new 
office  and  Mass  in  honor  of  Our  Lady  of 
Guadalupe,  by  letters  dated  March  6,  1894. 
In  1754  Pope  Benedict  XIV  had  already 
granted  a  similar  favor,  although  the  text  re- 
lating to  the  apparition  was  not  so  explicit.  In 
fact,  hardly  a  pontiff  has  sat  on  the  throne  of 
Peter  during  the  past  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  who  has  not  accorded  special  favors  to 
the  sanctuary  of  Guadalupe.  These  priv- 
ileges are  quoted  in  detail  by  the  learned 
Bishop  of  Cuernavaca,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Vera. 
A  summary  of  them  is  given  in  the  volume 
which,  as  Canon  of  Guadalupe,  he  wrote  be- 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  1 37 

fore  the  celebration  of  the  first  Provincial 
Council  of  Oaxaca/  and  also  in  a  special  treatise 
on  the  same  subject  published  in  the  same  year. 

In  1666  an  official  investigation  as  to  the 
truth  of  the  apparition  was  made  by  authority 
of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff.  The  questions  put 
to  the  witnesses  had  been  sent,  sealed,  from  the 
Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites.  Among  those 
who  were  examined  under  oath  were  eleven 
witnesses,  who  were  almost  contemporaries  of 
Juan  Diego,  and  whose  parents  had  known 
him  intimately,  and  who  were  therefore  them- 
selves well  qualified  to  speak  of  the  facts  in 
question.  Their  names  and  ages  are  given  by 
Urive^  and  Gurridi,^  and  important  extracts 
from  their  testimony  are  found  in  the  summary 
of  the  discussion  of  the  case  presented  to  the 
Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites  in  1894.* 

In  the  last  century,  an  Italian  of  great  eru- 
dition, the  Cav.  Lorenzo  Boturini,  spent  sev- 
eral years  in  Mexico,  devoting  all  his  time  and 

^Historical  Observations,  Mexico,  pp.  290-306,  1893. 
^Critical  Dissertation,  Mexico,  1801,  p.  50  et  seq. 
^Apology,  Mexico,  1820,  p.  63. 
*Pp.  31-46. 


138   History  of  the  American  College.Roine 

energies  to  collecting  manuscripts  and   tra- 
ditions with  regard  to  Our  Lady  of  Guada- 
lupe and  the  early  history  of  Mexico.     He 
formed  a  most  valuable  museum  of  Mexican 
antiquities,  and  published  a  catalogue  of  his 
treasures  (Madrid,  1746),  which  he  dedicated 
to  the  King  of  Spain.     In  this  catalogue  he 
enumerates    various    manuscripts    written    in 
Indian  and   Spanish,   and  various   canticles, 
maps,   and  wills,  which  he  collected   in  the 
course  of  his  investigations.    Among  the  man- 
uscripts is  one  written  by  Antonio  Valeriano, 
which  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  deserve 
special  mention.     Valeriano  was  one  of  the 
royal  family  of  the  Aztecs,  a  distinguished  pro- 
fessor of  Literature  and  Philosophy   in  the 
Franciscan   College   of   Tlaltelolco,   and   for 
nearly  forty  years  the  wise  and  prudent  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Indians  in  the  City  of  Mexico. 
He  was  born  shortly  before  the  date  of  the  ap- 
parition, and  died  in  1605.    In  1554  he  became 
professor  in  the  college  in  which  he  had  been 
educated,  and  wrote  in  excellent  ^Mexican  an 
account  of  the  apparition.    On  his  death  this 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  139 

manuscript  became  the  property  of  Don  Fer- 
nando de  Alva  Ixtlixochitl,  from  whom  it 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Boturini.  Now  it  is 
matter  of  record  that  the  account  subsequently 
published  in  Mexican  by  Laso  de  la  Vega  in 
1609,  and  translated  into  Spanish  by  order  of 
Boturini,  is  taken  from  the  manuscript  of 
Valeriano.  Consequently  the  printed  accounts 
which  first  appeared  in  1649  are  really  the  evi- 
dence of  a  much  older  writer,  contemporary 
with  the  apparition  in  question. 

HISTORICAL  TESTIMONY 

With  regard  to  the  hymns,  or  canticles,  and 
maps  of  the  Mexicans,  a  word  of  explanation 
may  be  necessary  for  the  general  reader.  The 
Mexicans  hesitated  for  some  time  to  accept 
the  alphabet  of  their  European  brethren,  and 
preferred  to  retain  their  own  methods  of  hand- 
ing down  the  facts  of  history.  One  of  these 
was  by  means  of  canticles;  another  by  maps. 
The  canticles  were  most  carefully  composed  by 
priests  of  their  nation,  and  transmitted 
jealously  from  sire  to  son,  so  jealously,  indeed. 


140   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

that  the  greatest  difficulty  was  experienced  in 
persuading  them  to  communicate  these  can- 
ticles to  strangers.  Therefore,  when  one 
speaks  of  their  canticles  forming  the  staple 
of  history,  the  word  is  not  to  he  taken  in  a 
loose  sense,  as  if  there  were  question  of  a  pop- 
ular ballad  ;  but  in  the  strict  sense  of  handing 
down  historical  truth  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration. Boturini  succeeded  in  obtaining 
copies  of  some  of  these  canticles,  and  they  were 
submitted  in  evidence  to  the  Holy  See  in  the 
latest  official  investigation  of  the  miracle.  One 
of  them  composed  by  Francis  Placido,  a  noble 
Indian,  was  sung  when  the  miraculous  image 
was  borne  in  solemn  procession  from  the 
bishop's  house  to  the  first  humble  sanctuary  of 
Guadalupe  in  1532.  Another  species  of  re- 
cording notable  events  was  the  use  of  hiero- 
glyphics and  paintings.  Specimens  of  these 
may  be  seen  in  the  National  Museum  in  Mex- 
ico. Boturini  had  in  his  possession  many  such 
maps.  On  one,  which  he  says  was  as  large  as 
a  linen  sheet,  were  portrayed  the  image  of  Our 
Lady  of  Guadalupe,  and  the  various  appari- 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  141 

tions  vouchsafed  both  to  Juan  Diego  and  to  his 
sick  uncle,  Juan  Bernardino. 

SANCTUARIES  ERECTED  TO  OUR  LADY  OF 
GUADALUPE 

Among  other  treasures,  Boturini  also  pos- 
sessed the  original  will  made  by  Jane  Martin, 
an  Indian,  March  11,  1589,  in  which,  after 
making  distinct  allusions  to  the  apparitions, 
the  testatrix  leaves  all  her  property  to  Our 
Lady  of  Guadalupe. 

In  this  connection  as  proof  of  the  existence 
of  the  traditions,  one  may  also  mention  the  de- 
votion of  all  the  early  archbishops  of  Mexico 
to  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe.  The  first  arch- 
bishop of  Mexico  was  the  venerable  Juan 
Zumarraga,  to  whom  Our  Lady  sent  the  mes- 
sages already  alluded  to,  and  who  died  in  1548. 
In  obedience  to  her  command  he  built  the  first 
church  of  Guadalupe,  providing  various  con- 
veniences for  the  people  to  pay  their  homage 
to  their  Heavenly  Patroness.  His  successor, 
Archbishop  JNIontufar,  who  ruled  the  diocese 
until  1569,  enlarged  the  venerated  sanctuary; 


142   History  of  the  American  College,Rome 

and  preaching  in  his  cathedral  on  the  appari- 
tions, September  6,  1556,  broke  out  in  the  fol- 
lowing impassioned  address  to  his  audience: 
*'Blessed  are  the  eyes  that  see  the  things  that 
you  see."  His  successor,  Archbishop  Con- 
treras  (1573-1591),  devoted  himself  with  in- 
tense zeal  to  the  welfare  of  the  Indians,  learned 
their  language  in  order  to  give  them  the  sacra- 
ments, and  deprived  himself  at  times  even  of 
the  necessaries  of  life  to  relieve  their  distress. 
With  regard  to  Guadalupe,  he  expressed  his 
intention  of  raising  the  sanctuary  to  the  rank 
of  a  parish  church,  and  appointing  chaplains 
who  might  at  all  times  be  at  the  service  of  the 
pilgrims,  and  ready  to  administer  to  their  spir- 
itual wants.  The  next  archbishop  was  Garcia 
de  jNIendoza,  who  ruled  the  diocese  from  1600 
to  1606.  It  is  related  that  he  took  special  de- 
light in  reading  the  authentic  acts  of  the  ap- 
parition; and  prepared  to  build  a  new  temple 
in  honor  of  Our  Lady.  After  him  came  Garcia 
Guerra  (1607  to  1612),  who  laid  the  corner- 
stone of  the  new  temple,  and  who,  entering  on 
his  duties  as  viceroy  of  the  kingdom,  went  first 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  143 

to  the  sanctuary,  and  there  prostrate  before  the 
miraculous  picture,  and  bathed  in  tears,  begged 
from  the  Immaculate  Virgin  to  obtain  for  him 
heavenly  grace  that  he  might  govern  his  people 
in  justice  and  in  peace.  Archbishop  Perez  de 
la  Serna,  from  1613  to  1629,  devoted  his  at- 
tention for  thirteen  years  to  the  magnificent 
second  temple  in  honor  of  Our  Lady  of  Guada- 
lupe. Archbishop  Zuniga  next  occupied  the 
Metropolitan  throne;  during  his  administra- 
tion occurred  the  terrible  inundations  of  1629. 
Although  Mexico  stands  in  an  elevated  valley, 
434  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  it  was  sub- 
ject from  time  to  time  to  terrible  inundations 
from  the  neighboring  lakes.  One  of  the  most 
terrible  of  these  floods  began  in  the  year  1629, 
and  lasted  for  the  space  of  nearly  five  years. 
During  that  time  30,000  Indians  perished, 
either  by  drowning  or  under  the  ruins  of  fall- 
ing houses.  Of  20,000  Spanish  famihes, 
hardly  400  survived.'  The  ordinary  roadbed 
being  submerged,  the  archbishop  and  his  atten- 
dants went  by  boat  in  solemn  pilgrimage  to 

^Tornei,  vol.  ii,  p.  181. 


144   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Guadalupe,  and  transferred  the  venerated  pic- 
ture to  his  cathedral,  where  it  was  visited  by- 
devout  and  immense  crowds,  day  by  day,  until 
the  waters  subsided.  By  common  acclamation, 
relief  from  the  total  destruction  which  threat- 
ened ]Mexico  was  attributed  to  the  intercession 
of  Our  Lady.  After  that  period,  1629,  devo- 
tion to  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  spread  so  rap- 
idly throughout  the  entire  kingdom  that  it 
would  be  more  than  useless  to  adduce  proofs 
to  establish  its  universality.  At  this  day  you 
can  hardly  enter  a  shop  in  the  City  of  Mexico 
without  finding  a  lamp  burning  before  a  pic- 
ture of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe.  You  can 
hardlj"  enter  a  church  without  seeing  an  altar 
erected  in  her  honor.  Indeed,  the  Provincial 
Council  of  Antequera  or  Oaxaca  (1893)  spe- 
cially ordains^  that  no  church  be  built  in  the 
entire  province  without  its  special  altar  in 
honor  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe.  Every 
diocese  in  Mexico  dedicates  the  12th  of  every 
month  to  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  and  every 
year  sends  thousands  of  devout  pilgrims  to 

»Tit.  V.  c.  X. 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  145 

her  shrine.  When  the  patriot  priest,  Hidalgo, 
who  is  called  the  Washington  of  Mexico,  began 
the  fight  for  independence  in  1810,  his  standard 
and  his  battle-cry  were  *'Our  Lady  of  Guada- 
lupe." The  revolution  itself,  although  it  de- 
spoiled every  other  church  in  Mexico,  has  ever 
respected  this  shrine  of  Our  Lady.  In  one 
word,  the  Virgin  of  Guadalupe  has  taken  such 
hold  on  the  Mexican  people  that  to  attempt  to 
dislodge  her  from  their  affections  would  be  to 
tear  out  their  hearts  by  the  roots. 

For  the  statements  made  above,  abundant 
testimony  is  at  hand.  For  the  sake  of  brevity 
many  references  have  been  omitted,  but  they 
can  easily  be  found  in  the  various  works  men- 
tioned in  the  succeeding  paragraph.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  volumes  here  indicated,  many  others 
might  be  cited. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  APPARITION 

The  earliest  printed  account  of  the  appari- 
tion appeared  in  Spanish  in  the  year  1648, 
from  the  pen  of  the  eminent  oratorian,  Don 
Miguel  Sanchez.    In  1649  a  Mexican  account 


146    History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

in  Nahuatl  was  published  by  the  Rev.  Laso 
de  la  Vega;  as  already  noticed,  his  work  is 
based  upon,  if  not  identical  with,  the  manu- 
script of  Antonio  Valeriano.  Another  history 
of  the  apparition,  written  with  great  clearness 
and  elegance,  was  given  to  the  world  by  the 
Jesuit  Father,  Matthew  de  la  Cruz  (Puebla, 
1660).  Still  another  account  by  Dr.  Louis 
Becerra  Tanco  (Madrid,  1675). 

An  Italian  translation  from  the  classical  pen 
of  Mgr.  Anastatio  Nicoselli,  was  printed  in 
1681  at  Rome.  Numerous  reproductions  of 
this  work  have  appeared  in  various  languages. 
Nicoselli's  account  is  particularly  valuable,  as 
it  was  compiled  from  the  authentic  documents 
submitted  to  the  Holy  See,  and  was  dedicated 
to  the  Master  of  the  Sacred  Apostolic  Palace. 
Another  work  of  great  value,  "JNIexican  Shield 
of  Arms,"  was  written  by  Don  Cajetan  Cab- 
rera in  1746.  In  1756  the  celebrated  painter, 
Miguel  Cabrera,  published  his  work,  "The 
Wonder  of  America,"  describing  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  image  of  Our  Lady.  Father 
Francis  Xavier  Alegre,  in  his  "History  of  the 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  1 47 

Society  of  Jesus  in  New  Spain,"  gives  many- 
interesting  details  of  the  history  of  Guadalupe, 
as  does  also  Father  Francis  de  Florencia,  S.J., 
in  his  "Polar  Star  of  Mexico"  (Madrid,  1785) . 
This  is  perhaps  the  most  valuable  book  of  all 
on  the  present  subject. 

Among  the  more  modern  works  may  be 
mentioned  "The  Apparition  of  Our  Lady  of 
Guadalupe,"  by  Tornei  y  Mendivil  (Orizaba, 
1849);  "The  Virgin  of  Tepeyac,"  by  Fr. 
Stephen  Anticoli,  S.J.  (Guadalajara,  1884)  ; 
"The  Most  Holy  Virgin  of  Guadalupe,"  by 
Don  Jose  Cuevas  (Mexico,  1887)  ;  "The 
Treasure  of  Guadalupe,"  by  Bishop  Vera 
(Anecameca,  1889)  ;  "The  Teaching  Office  of 
the  Church  and  the  Virgin  of  Tepeyac,"  by  Fr. 
Stephen  Anticoli,  S.J.  (Querétaro,  1892)  ; 
"Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,"  by  Fr.  Laureano 
Veres  Acevedo,  S.J.,  second  edition  (Mexico, 
1895). 

Through  the  courtesy  of  the  Most  Rev. 
Archbishop  Gillow,  of  Oaxaca,  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr. 
Plancarte,  Titular  Bishop  of  Constantinople 
and  Abbot  of  Guadalupe;  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr. 


148    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Vera,  the  learned  Bishop  of  Cuernavaca;  the 
zealous  Dr.  Camacho,  Bishop  of  Querétaro; 
and  of  Senator  Lauda  y  Escandon,  the  writer 
has  been  able  to  obtain  several  of  these  works 
in  which  there  is  an  admirable  and  exhaustive 
summary  of  the  proofs  of  the  apparition.  The 
more  one  studies  and  considers  the  subject,  the 
more  he  is  overwhelmed  w^ith  the  mass  of  ma- 
terial that  confirms  the  truth  of  the  miracle, 
and  increases  in  one's  soul  tender  and  filial  love 
for  the  Immaculate  Virgin,  who  under  Divine 
Providence  was  the  gracious  instrument  of  the 
conversion  of  the  Indians  in  Mexico,  and  who 
is  our  venerated  and  beloved  patroness  in  these 
United  States.'— From  "The  Seminary,"  De- 
cember, 1895. 

^This  article  is  characteristic  of  Archbishop  Corrigan,  who 
was  a  saint  as  well  as  a  scholar.  His  erudition  was  vast,  and 
if  his  active  life  had  given  him  leisure,  he  would  have  written 
many  works  as  remarkable  for  elegance  of  style,  deep  knowl- 
edge of  ecclesiastical  science,  and  correct  taste,  as  is  every- 
thing that  he  wrote,  from  the  simplest  letter  to  the  learned 
pastoral. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THREATENED    CONFISCATION    OF    THE    COLLEGE 
PROPERTY 

T  T  SU  ALLY  the  first  act  of  an  apostate  govern- 
ment is  to  steal  the  property  of  the 
Church.  Certainly  the  history  of  modern  times 
proves  the  truth  of  this  statement.  In  Ger- 
many, in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  "reform- 
ers" plundered  the  churches  and  monasteries, 
and  the  apostate  nobles  appropriated  the 
Church  lands  to  their  own  use.  In  England 
Henry  VIII  swept  much  of  the  Church  rev- 
enue into  the  royal  coffers,  and  the  Church 
lands  he  apportioned  among  his  subservient 
courtiers.  The  Latin  nations  were  slower  to 
act  ;  but  when  they  began  they  were  more  radi- 
cal than  their  Teutonic  and  Saxon  neighbors. 
France  abolished  the  Christian  religion  and 
stole  all  the  Church  property  in  the  Kingdom 
nearly  two  hundred  years  after  the  English 
and  the  German  apostacy.  Then  when  the 
theft  was  accomplished,  the  kings,  and  the 

149 


150   History  of  the  American  College^Rome 

nobles,  and  the  "statesmen"  persisted  in  their 
apostacy,  for  fear  of  being  compelled  to  make 
restitution  of  the  stolen  property.  A  hundred 
years  after  the  French  spoliation,  the  Italian 
"statesmen"  appropriated  without  title  the 
sources  of  Italian  Church  benefices,  and 
stopped  their  confiscation  only  when  they 
found  themselves  in  face  of  property  protected 
by  the  laws  and  the  guns  of  a  greater  power. 

Prompted  by  greed,  the  statesmen  of  the 
school  of  Cavour  and  Garibaldi — the  one  a 
statesman  without  conscience,  and  the  other  a 
half-crazy  soldier  without  morals — set  their 
eyes  even  on  the  property  of  our  College.  The 
nature  of  this  attempt  to  confiscate  its  prop- 
erty is  found  in  the  following  letter  of  the  Vice- 
Rector  of  the  College,  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Schulte; 

Collegio  Americano  del  Nord, 
Via  dell'  Umiltà, 

Rome,  March  6,  1884. 

Most  Reverend  dear  Archbishop: 

About  a  week  ago,  I  heard  that  our  College 
was  to  be  sold.     I  inquired  about  the  author 


Threateìied  Confiscation  151 

of   such   a  report,   and   found   out   that   the 
Economo   of   the    Seminario   ApolHnari   had 
heard  the  members  of  the  committee,  to  whom 
the  sale  had  been  given  in  charge,  discussing  it 
among  themselves  and  with  others.     Among 
the  things  they  said  was  that  the  American 
College  would  be  the  first  property  of  the 
Propaganda  to  be  put  up  at  auction.    I  con- 
sulted   Cardinal    Simeoni,    who    immediately 
called  Mgr.  Jacobini;  and  the  result  of  the 
union  is  contained  in  the  cablegram  sent  to 
you,  as  Secretary  of  the  Executive  Committee, 
in  order  that,  as  they  said,  you  might  communi- 
cate the  same  to  the  other  members.    It  would 
appear  that  His  Em.  Card.  JMcCloskey  sent  to 
Washington  to  inform  the  Government  of  the 
spoliation  of  our  national  college,  for  when 
Gen.  Lewis  Richmond  and  his  secretary  paid 
me  a  visit  this  morning j  asking  me  whether 
the  College  really  belonged  to  the  American 
bishops,  I  did  not  like  to  commit  myself,  con- 
sequently I  told  them  that  I  thought  it  be- 
longed to  the  bishops,  but  for  further  informa- 
tion I  should  advise  them  to  see  Card.  Simeoni. 


152    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

They  visited  INIgr.  Jacobini,  who  told  them 
that  it  was  the  property  of  the  Propaganda, 
which  at   the   present   date,    considering   the 
memoranda  which  the  Government  possesses, 
could  not  be  denied.    He,  however,  pleaded  in 
this  manner.    There  is  a  clause  in  the  Italian 
law,  which  says  that  educational  institutions 
of  the  Roman  Province  are  under  the  inmiedi- 
ate  control  of  the  Holy  Father,  whatever  Con- 
gregation or  Cardinal  may  be  their  protectors. 
It  is  on  this  plea  that  the  American  Consul  will 
oppose  the  sale  of  the  College.     If,  however, 
he  fails  in  this,  the  only  way  to  save  us  from 
being  put  in  the  street  with  trunks  and  bag- 
gage will  be  to  buy  it.    Mgr.  Jacobini  enter- 
tains most  sanguine  hopes  of  our  remaining 
undisturbed,  but  I  am  afraid  that  his  hopes 
will   be   frustrated.      Though   the   American 
Consul  is  heart  and  soul  on  our  side,  yet  the 
Italian  Government,  exasperated  by  the  diffi- 
culties which  the  Propaganda  has  caused  it, 
has  determined,  whether  by  right  or  injustice, 
to   make   its   cause   desperate.      I   have   not 
seen  the  Card.  Protector  as  yet  since  the  send- 


Threatened  Confiscation  153 

ing  of  the  cablegram.  I  could  not  send  the 
message  from  Rome,  consequently  I  devised  to 
send  it  to  the  Jesuit  College  at  Monaco  (Prin- 
cipante),  to  which  place  I  ordered  also  the 
answer. 

With  kindest  regards,  I  remain. 
Most  Rev.  dear  Archbishop, 
Your  most  obdt.  serv't  in  X't., 

A.  J.   SCHULTE, 

Vice-Rector. 
M.  Rev.  M.  A.  Corrigan,  D.D., 

Coadj.  Archbp.  of  New  York. 

An  Itahan  statute,  August  15,  1866,  di- 
rected religious  corporation  property  to  be 
sold.  A  law  of  1873  applies  the  law  of  1867 
to  Rome.  The  Propaganda  contested  its  ap- 
plication for  ten  years,  but  was  beaten  in  the 
Court  of  Cassation. 

News  of  the  intended  confiscation  of  the 
American  College  had  been  previously  cabled 
(March  2,  1884)  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Com- 
mittee, Archbishop  Corrigan,  who,  acting  on 
the  advice  of  His  Eminence  Cardinal  McClos- 


154   History  of  the  American  College.Rovie 

key  and  of  the  JNIost  Rev.  Archbishop  of 
Boston,  Archbishop  WilHams  (who  were  the 
only  members  of  the  Board  then  in  the  United 
States),  took  measures  to  save  the  property 
from  the  threatened  disaster.  Through  the 
kind  offices  of  Mgr.  Quinn,  V.  G.  of  New 
York,  and  of  Mr.  George  Bhss,  a  prominent 
lawyer  of  New  York,  President  Arthur  was 
approached  on  the  subject,  as  was  also  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen,  then  Secretary  of  State.  A 
Cabinet  meeting  was  held,  March  4,  1884,  and 
instructions  were  forwarded  to  our  JMinister  in 
Rome,  Mr.  Astor,  to  use  his  good  offices  with 
Sig.  Mancini,  Italian  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  in  behalf  of  the  College.  In  less  than 
a  month,  the  gratifying  news  was  received  that 
the  College  was  exempt  from  the  danger  of 
sale. 

Following,  we  print  the  papers  relative  to 
the  impending  sale  : 


MUST    REV.    .MICHAEL  A.    CORRIGAN,    D.D.. 
FORMER  ARCHBISHOP  OF  NEW  YORK 


Threatened  Confiscation  155 

TELEGRAM 

_  .      ,^      .  March  4,  1884. 

Executive  JNlansion, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

To  Very  Rev.  Wm.  Quinn, 

26  East  50th  Str. 
Ask  Archbishop  Corrigan  to  write  a  per- 
sonal  letter   to    Secretary   Frelinghuysen   at 

Charles  E.  Miller.^ 

N.  B.  :  The  following  was  written  on  the 
back  of  above  telegram  ; 

Hon.  Mr.  Frel., 
Secretary  of  State, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Remarks, 

I  had  already  written  to  President  Arthur; 
but  Mr.  Miller  thought  it  well  to  strengthen 
the  case  by  another  letter  to  the  Secretary  of 
State.  Said  letter  was  written  by  me  at  once, 
and  appears  in  the  Diplomatic  Report,  sub- 
mitted to  Congress.  ^        ^ 

Abp.  Corrigan. 

^A  well-known  lawyer  of  New  York  of  the  firm  of  Devlin, 
Miller,  and  Trull. 


156   History  of  the  American  College, Koine 

TELEGRAM 

March  4,  1884. 
Washington,  D.  C. 

To  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Corrigan, 

50  St.  &  Mad.  Avenue. 

Secretary  of  State  cables  to  Rome  to-day.    I 

suggest  that  you  write  personal  letter  to  Mr. 

Frelinghuysen,  stating  the  case  much  as  you  do 

to  me.    He  speaks  most  kindly  of  you. 

George  Bliss. 

48th  Congress,  Ex.  Doc. 

1st  Session.  No.  143. 

HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

Threatened  Confiscation  of  the  Ameri- 
can College  at  Rome,  Italy 

message 

From  the 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES 

transmitting 
A  communication  from  the  Secretary  of  State, 
in  response  to  a  Resolution  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  April  21,  1884,  relative  to 


Threatened  Confiscation  157 

the  threatened  confiscation  of  the  American 

College  at  Rome,  by  the  Italian  Government. 

April  24, 1884. — Referred  to  the  Committee 

on  Foreign  Affairs,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

To  THE  House  of  Representatives: 

I  transmit  herewith,  in  answer  to  a  Resolu- 
tion of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
21st  instant,  a  Report  of  the  Secretary  of 
State,  with  accompanying  papers,  in  relation 
to  the  threatened  confiscation  of  the  American 
College  at  Rome  by  the  Italian  Government. 

Chester  A.  Arthur. 
Executive  Mansion, 

Washington,  April  24,  1884. 

To  the  President: 

The  Secretary  of  State,  to  whom  was  re- 
ferred the  Resolution  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives of  the  21st  inst.,  "that  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  be,  and  is  hereby,  requested  to 
send  to  this  House  all  the  facts  and  informa- 
Hon  he  has  concerning  the  threatened  confisca- 
tion of  the  American  College  in  Italy  by  any 
law  or  decree  of  the  Italian  Government,"  has 


158    History  of  the  American  College.Roine 

the  honor  to  submit  herewith  coiDies  of  the  cor- 
respondence relating  thereto,  on  file  in  the 
Department  of  State,  from  which  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  Italian  Government,  on  the  rep- 
resentation of  the  American  JNIinister,  has  ex- 
empted the  American  College  at  Rome  from 
the  impending  sale  of  the  Property  of  the 
Propaganda. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Fred'k  T.  Frelinghuysen. 
Department  of  State, 

Washington,  April  24,  1884. 

List  of  Accompanying  Papers 

l._Cardinal  McCloskey  to  the  President, 
March  3,  1884,  with  accompaniments. 

2._Archbishop  Corrigan  to  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen, March  4,  1884. 

3._Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Mr.  Astor,  tele- 
gram, March  4,  1884. 

4._Archbishop  Corrigan  to  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen, March  5,  with  accompaniments. 

5.— ]\Ir.  Frelinghuysen  to  Mr,  Astor,  No.  59, 
March  5,  1884. 


Threatened  Confiscation  159 

6. — Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Archbishop  Cor- 
rigan,  March  7,  1884. 

7. — Archbishop  Corrigan  to  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen, March  8,  1884. 

8. — Mr.  Astor  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  cable- 
gram, March  11,  1884. 

9. — Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Cardinal  McClos- 
key,  March  12,  1884. 

10. — Archbishop  Corrigan  to  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen, March  14,  1884. 

11. — Mr.    Astor    to    Mr.    Frelinghuysen, 
No.  61,  March  15,  1884. 

12. — Mr.    Frelinghuysen    to    Mr.    Astor, 
No.  62,  March  20,  1884. 

13. — Mr.  Astor  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  cable- 
gram, March  28,  1884. 

14. — Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Mr.  Astor,  cable- 
gram. 

15. — Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Cardinal  Mc- 
Closkey,  March  29,  1884. 

16. — Mr.    Astor    to    Mr.    Frelinghuysen, 
No.  63,  March  31,  with  accompaniments. 

17. — Archbishop  Corrigan  to  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen, April  1,  1884. 


160   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

lg._;Mr.    Frelinghuysen    to    Mr.    Astor, 
No.  65,  April  15,  1884. 

No.  1 

Cardinal  McCloskey  to  the  President 
New  York,  March  3,  1884. 
(Received  March  4.) 
Your  Excellency: 

Information  has  been  received  by  cable  that 
the  American  College  in  Rome,  a  theological 
establishment  for  the  education  of  American 
citizens,  is  about  to  be  sold,  in  accordance  with 
the  recent  decision  of  the  Court  of  Cassation, 
ordering  all  the  real  estate  of  the  Propaganda 
to  be  converted  into  Government  bonds. 

Though  technically  held  by  the  Propaganda, 
the  American  College  is  virtually  American 
property,  as  the  bishops  of  the  United  States 
have  the  use  of  it,  in  perpetuity,  free  of  cost, 
and  as  they  have  contributed  large  sums  of 
money,  probably  equal  to  its  original  value,  in 
alterations  and  equipment.  The  ecclesiastical 
province  of  New  York,  over  which  I  preside, 
contributed  $20,000  for  this  purpose  in  1859, 


Threatened  Confiscation  161 

and  all  the  other  dioceses  of  the  country  also 
contributed  their  quota. 

The  decision  of  the  court  is  entirely  unex- 
pected. In  this  sudden  emergency,  then,  as 
representing  the  Catholic  episcopate  of  the 
United  States,  I  would  beg  your  Excellency 
to  ask  the  King  of  Italy  for  a  stay  of  proceed- 
ings, at  least,  in  the  premises,  if  it  be  not  pos- 
sible furthermore  to  exempt  the  institution,  as 
virtually  American  property,  from  the  opera- 
tion of  the  law. 

I  would  further  suggest,  in  view  of  the 
urgency  of  the  case,  that  communication  be  by 
cable.     I  am,  etc., 

John,  Cardinal  McCloskey, 
Archbishop  of  New  York, 
per  M.  A.  Corrigan, 
Archbishop  Coadjutor. 
His  Excellency,  Chester  A.  Arthur. 

PASTORAL  LETTER  OF  CARDINAL  m'clOSKEY 

John  McCloskey,  cardinal  priest  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Church,  of  the  title  of  Sancta 
Maria  supra  Minervam,  by  the  grace  of 


162    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

God   and   favor   of  the   Apostolic    See, 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  to  the  clergy, 
secular  and  regular,  and  to  the  laity  of 
the  diocese — Health  and  Benediction  in 
the  Lord: 
In  a  recent  brief.  Our  Holy  Father,  Pope 
Leo  XIII,  has  expressed  the  desire  that  the 
beautiful  devotion  of  the  Rosary,  which  he  rec- 
ommended in  such  earnest  terms  a  few  months 
ago,  to  all  the  faithful  throughout  the  world, 
"should  be  restored  to  the  place  of  honor  which 
it  once  held,  when  no  day  was  suffered  to  pass 
without  its  recitation  in  every  Christian  fam- 
ily"; and  to  further  this  end,  he  has  manifested 
the  wish  that  the  third  part  of  the  Rosary  be 
recited  daily  in  the  principal  church  of  each 
diocese,  and  on  Sundays  and  other  days  of  pre- 
cept in  all  the  churches  having  the  care  of  souls. 
In  accordance  with  the  Apostolic  brief,  we 
hereby  ordain  that  in  addition  to  the  daily  reci- 
tation of  the  Rosary  in  our  cathedral,  this 
devotion  be  practised  also  on  Sundays  and  holy 
days  in  all  the  churches  of  the  diocese  in  which 
there  is  a  resident  rector. 


Threatened  Confiscation  163 

From  this  devout  practice  we  augur  great 
good  to  souls,  not  only  in  virtue  of  the  power- 
ful intercession  of  our  heavenly  Patroness,  the 
Queen  of  the  Holy  Rosary,  who  has  never  yet 
despised  the  petition  of  those  who  have  re- 
course to  her,  but  also  from  the  intrinsic  effi- 
cacy of  prayer  itself.  "Nothing,"  says  St. 
Chrysostom,  "is  so  powerful  as  prayer,  for  it 
renders  impossibilities  possible  and  things  diffi- 
cult it  makes  easy."  "Prayer,"  says  St.  Bona- 
venture,  "is  as  the  armor  which  equips  the 
soldier;  as  the  torch  that  lights  the  path  in 
darkness  ;  as  the  dove  carrying  the  olive  branch 
of  peace."  Safety,  light,  comfort  in  affliction, 
all  come  to  us  through  prayer;  for  the  Lord 
our  God  "is  gracious  and  merciful,  patient  and 
rich  in  mercy." 

With  this  same  sense  of  trust  and  loving  con- 
fidence, the  Holy  Father  also  directs  that  three 
"Hail  Marys,"  the  "Salve  Regina,"  and  a  fit- 
ting response  be  recited  by  the  celebrant  and 
the  faithful  after  every  Low  Mass  in  future, 
and  the  invocation,  "Queen  of  the  Most  Sacred 
Rosary,  pray  for  us,"  inserted  in  the  Litany  of 


164   History  of  the  American  College  jRome 

the  Blessed  Virgin  after  the  title,  "Queen  con- 
ceived without  original  sin." 

Amongst  the  various  reasons  for  besieging 
Heaven  by  our  pious  importunities  is  the  fol- 
lowing: "That  the  Church  is  now  assailed  not 
only  by  private  individuals,  but  by  civil  insti- 
tutions as  well,  and  civil  laws"  affecting  ecclesi- 
astical liberty.  The  words  of  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  are,  unhappily,  only  too  fully  illus- 
trated by  the  recent  decision  of  the  supreme 
court  of  Italy  regarding  the  property  of  the 
Propaganda.  Gratitude  to  that  venerable  in- 
stitution, from  which  our  own  diocese  has  re- 
ceived so  many  substantial  favors  in  the  past, 
can  not  permit  us  to  remain  silent  under  this 
latest  and  shameful  outrage  offered  to  the 
Holy  See. 

We  will  recall  to  your  minds,  dear  brethren, 
first  the  law  itself  on  which  the  decision  of  the 
court  is  based,  and  then  consider  its  recent  ap- 
plication. 

On  July  7, 1866,  the  Italian  Government  en- 
acted a  law  suppressing  religious  corporations. 
The    first    article    reads    as    follows;     "Re- 


Threatened  Confiscation  165 

ligious  orders,  corporations,  and  congrega- 
tions, whether  regular  or  secular,  which  imply 
community  life  and  have  an  ecclesiastical  char- 
acter, are  no  longer  recognized  in  the  King- 
dom, The  houses  and  establishments  belong- 
ing to  the  aforesaid  orders,  corporations,  or 
communities  are  suppressed."  A  later  law  of 
August  15,  1867,  provides  that  all  the  prop- 
erty of  religious  corporations  be  turned  into 
the  national  exchequer,  without  power  of  being 
diverted  into  other  channels,  the  interest 
merely,  after  deducting  taxes  and  expenses  of 
administration,  to  revert  to  the  original  own- 
ers. These  taxes  and  assessments  are  said  to 
amount  to  nearly  one-third  of  the  capital. 

The  injustice  of  this  legal  robbery  is  mani- 
fest. 

All  Christians  are  bound  to  practise  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  Gospel;  a  favored  few,  to  whom 
special  grace  from  on  high  is  given,  are  called 
to  embrace  its  counsels,  and  to  lead  consecrated 
lives  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience.  It  is 
matter  of  history,  beyond  dispute,  that  from 
the  middle  of  the  third  century  of  the  Christian 


166   History  of  the  American  College.Bome 

era  this  common  or  religious  life  took  root  in 
the  Church  and  continued  to  flourish  age  after 
age  without  interruption,  whatever  meanwhile 
may  have  been  the  form  of  civil  government. 

Abstracting  even  from  the  divine  sanction  of 
the  Supreme  Lawgiver,  implied  in  His  express 
commendation  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedi- 
ence ;  abstracting  from  the  right  of  prescription 
acquired  for  the  religious  life  by  fifteen  cen- 
turies of  existence,  the  law  of  nature  itself 
gives  men  the  right  to  live  together  in  pursuit 
of  virtue,  just  as  they  may  unite  for  any  other 
lawful  object. 

The  religious  communities  of  men  and 
women  in  Italy,  founded  to  serve  Christ  in  His 
suffering  members — to  nurse  the  sick,  to  care 
for  the  orphan,  to  instruct  the  ignorant;  or 
again,  to  devote  themselves  to  lives  of  penance 
or  prayer,  so  as  to  aid  in  averting  the  anger 
of  God  from  His  people — all  these  communi- 
ties, with  vested  rights,  were  legally  swept  out 
of  existence  without  trial  or  form  of  judgment, 
by  a  stroke  of  the  pen;  and  their  property, 
whether  acquired  by  gift  or  by  legitimate  pur- 


Threatened  Confiscation  167 

chase,  wrested  from  their  occupation  and 
ownership  and  squandered  by  forced  sale  ;  even 
the  promised  pittance  of  a  few  cents  a  day  was 
often  denied  the  dispersed  members. 

Such  is  the  actual  legislation  of  Italy  with 
regard  to  religious  orders. 

The  decision  of  January  29,  1884,  applies 
the  same  law,  in  all  its  severity,  to  the  property 
of  the  Propaganda. 

The  Sacred  Congregation  of  the  Propa- 
ganda was  instituted  by  Pope  Gregory  XV,  in 
1622,  to  direct  the  work  of  foreign  missions 
in  spreading  the  light  of  the  Gospel  and  the 
benefits  of  civilization.  More  than  two-thirds 
of  the  Catholic  world  (our  own  country  in- 
cluded) are  at  this  moment  under  its  beneficent 
supervision  and  direction.  Among  its  auxil- 
iaries, besides  the  famous  Polyglot  Press  for 
the  printing  of  Bibles  and  liturgical  works,  is 
the  celebrated  Urban  College  for  the  education 
of  missionaries  of  every  clime.  To  this  school 
of  theological  learning  the  American  Church 
is  indebted  (to  speak  only  of  those  who  are 
gone)  for  such  names  as  those  of  the  late  Bishop 


168   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Lynch  of  Charleston;  Bishops  O'Connor  of 
Pittsburg;  McMullen  of  Davenport;  Rose- 
crans  of  Columbus  ;  Archbishop  Wood  of  Phil- 
adelphia; Archbishops  Kenrick  and  Spalding 
of  Baltimore. 

Another  subsidiary  agency  of  Propaganda, 
in  which  the  Catholics  of  this  country  have 
reason  to  be  specially  interested,  is  the  Ameri- 
can College  in  Rome.  The  spacious  buildings 
forming  this  institution  were  purchased  by  the 
Sacred  Congregation  of  the  Propagation  of 
the  Faith,  and  placed  at  the  service  of  our 
prelates  for  the  preparation  of  candidates  for 
the  sacred  ministry.  At  present,  over  fifty 
young  levites  are  peacefully  pursuing  their 
studies  in  the  American  College.  By  the  sen- 
tence of  the  Court  of  Cassation  both  the  Urban 
and  the  American  Colleges  are  liable  at  any 
moment  to  be  sold,  and  the  proceeds  to  be  con- 
verted into  Italian  rentes. 

There  is  not  even  the  pretext  that  the  prop- 
erty, thus  threatened  with  confiscation,  was 
ever  the  fruit  of  anything  but  the  lawful  and 
voluntary  offerings  of  pious  individuals.    It  is 


Threaten  ed  Confiscation  1 69 

in  no  sense  the  result  of  government  grants 
or  bounty.  The  Kingdom  of  Italy  has  no 
more  right  to  seize  upon  it  than  the  United 
States  would  have  to  appropriate  the  funds  of 
the  American  Bible  Society  in  this  city  or  of 
the  Methodist  Book  Concern.  Both  are  cor- 
porations and  legal  trusts  for  the  spread  of  the 
Bible  and  the  Gospel.  The  Propaganda  is  the 
same. 

By  the  recent  decision  of  the  courts,  the 
Holy  Father  is  outraged  in  the  exercise  of  his 
spiritual  authority  in  directing  foreign  mis- 
sions. He  is  treated  as  a  minor,  incapable  of 
administering  his  own  property.  He  is  made 
dependent  on  his  oppressors  even  for  the  lim- 
ited interest  from  his  own  funds  which  he  is 
permitted  to  receive.  The  homes  of  learning, 
which  he  destines  for  the  training  of  mission- 
aries, are  subject  to  closure  at  any  moment; 
and  the  rights  of  millions  of  Catholics  through- 
out four-fifths  of  the  globe  are  violated  in  his 
person,  inasmuch  as  he  is  debarred  from  dis- 
charging efficiently  toward  them  the  duties  of 
Supreme  Pastor. 


170   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

As  in  the  recent  western  floods,  which 
threatened,  hour  after  hour,  to  submerge 
happy  homes  and  smiling  hamlets,  men  looked 
on  with  alarm  and  dismay,  apprehensive  of  still 
greater  evils  that  might  be  in  reserve,  even  so 
would  our  hearts  tremble  for  the  future  did 
we  not  know  full  well  as  regards  Holy 
Church  that,  in  His  own  good  time,  Our 
Lord  will  say  to  the  waves  and  to  the  tem- 
pest: "Thus  far  you  shall  go,  and  no  farther." 
"On  thee,  O  Peter,  I  will  build  My  Church, 
and  the  gates  of  Hell  will  not  prevail  against 
it." 

Meanwhile,  reverend  brethren  and  dearly 
beloved  children,  let  us  pray  earnestly  that  the 
hour  of  trial  and  affliction  for  our  Holy  Father 
and  the  Church  may  be  shortened;  that  all 
wrongdoers  may  return  to  wiser  counsels  and 
to  a  sense  of  justice.  "Let  God  arise  and  let 
His  enemies  be  scattered;  and  let  them  that 
hate  Him  flee  from  before  His  face.  As  smoke 
vanisheth,  so  let  them  vanish  away  ;  as  wax  melt- 
eth  before  the  fire,  so  let  the  wicked  perish  at 
the  presence  of  God.    And  let  the  just  feast 


Threatened  Confiscation  171 

and  rejoice  before  God,  and  be  delighted  with 
gladness." 

Given  at  New  York,  Ash  Wednesday,  1884, 
to  be  read  in  the  churches  of  the  diocese  on  the 
first  Sunday  in  Lent. 

John,  Cardinal  McCloskey, 

Archbishop  of  New  York. 

John  M.  Farley,  Secretary. 

PROPAGANDA  PROPERTY 

Italian  Statute,  July  7, 1866,  suppressed  re- 
ligious corporations.  Statute,  August  15, 1867, 
directed  religious  corporation  property  to  be 
sold,  and  interest,  after  taxes  and  expenses  of 
administration  deducted,  to  be  paid  to  original 
owners.  Taxes  and  expenses  very  high  ;  nearly 
one-third  of  income  of  Propaganda  in  pious, 
religious  corporations  for  education  of  mission- 
aries. Their  property  was  exempt  by  decision 
June  9, 1881  ;  but  appellate  court,  January  29, 
1884,  applies  statute  to  them. 

The  American  College  in  Rome  was  built 
exclusively  by  American  moneys,  and  is  sup- 


172    History  of  the  American  College.Eome 

ported  exclusively  by  American  moneys,  and 
is  for  education  of  priests  from  the  United 
States.  The  legal  title  is  in  Propaganda,  but 
it  is  in  fact  American  property,  and  should 
be  exempt  from  the  decision.  If  not  exempt 
time  should  be  given  (so  that  the  friends  here 
can  raise  money  and  buy  it  in) . 

Am  informed  that  some  years  since  Glad- 
stone successfully  interfered  in  behalf  of  Irish 
College  and  Benedictine  House,  near  Naples, 
called  the  Monte  Cassino. 


No.  2 

Archbishop  Corrigan  to  Mr.  Freling- 

HUYSEN 

452  Madison  Avenue, 
New  York,  March  4,  1884. 
(Rec'dMar.  5.) 

Dear  Sir:  I  beg  most  respectfully  to  invite 
your  attention  to  the  recent  decision  of  the 
Itahan  Court  of  Cassation  in  its  bearings  on 
the  American  College,  Rome. 


Threatened  Confiscation  173 

This  institution — a  dependency  of  the  Prop- 
aganda— was  founded  in  1859,  for  the  higher 
education  of  ecclesiastical  students  from  the 
United  States.  American  citizenship  is  a  con- 
dition precedent  for  admission  to  its  walls. 
Pius  IX,  then  sovereign  of  Rome,  entered  into 
an  agreement  with  our  bishops  giving  them 
the  free  use,  in  perpetuity,  of  the  premises,  they 
on  their  part  contributing  some  $50,000  toward 
the  proper  furnishing  and  equipment  of  the 
college.  Our  mutual  friend,  Mgr.  Doane  of 
Newark,  collected,  moreover,  $150,000  from 
his  co-religionists,  on  the  strength  of  the  same 
agreement,  for  the  formation  of  scholarships; 
to  which  sum  $40,000  or  $50,000  were  subse- 
quently added  for  the  endowment  of  officials, 
and  for  providing  a  summer  house  for  the 
students. 

Although  the  bishops  of  the  United  States 
were  willing  and  anxious  to  secure  the  title 
of  the  property,  the  pontifical  government 
was  reluctant  to  accede  to  their  request, 
and  they  were  obliged  to  content  themselves 
with  the  guarantee  of  the  perpetual  free  use 


174-    History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

of  the  premises,  and  on  the  strength  of  this 
promise  made  all  the  offerings  already  al- 
luded to. 

It  seems  to  us  a  hardship  that  a  contract, 
made  in  good  faith  and  faithfully  observed  on 
our  part,  should  be  set  aside  by  the  successor 
in  power  of  the  contracting  party  on  the  other 
side. 

As  the  first  student  sent  from  the  United 
States — from  New  Jersey — for  the  opening  of 
the  American  College,  I  am  specially  interested 
in  the  welfare  of  my  alma  mater,  and  I  ven- 
ture to  appeal  to  your  powerful  influence; 
also  knowing  full  well  how  weighty  is  the 
request  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States. 

A  few  years  ago  the  Irish  College  in  Rome 
was  menaced  with  alienation.  A  word  from 
the  ]\Iinister  of  Great  Britain  shielded  it  from 
danger.  A  few  years  ago  the  famous  abbey 
of  Monte  Cassino  was  doomed  to  destruction. 
A  word  from  ISIr.  Gladstone  warded  off  the 
peril.  A  few  years  ago,  in  1848,  the  Propa- 
ganda itself  was  in  danger.    During  the  revo- 


Threatened  Confiscation  175 

lution  our  glorious  Stars  and  Stripes,  shelter- 
ing its  American  inmates,  averted  all  injury. 

The  application  of  the  present  law  of  Italy 
means  ruin  and  confiscation  for  the  American 
College.  It  implies,  first  of  all,  a  tax  of  thirty 
per  cent,  for  conversion  into  government 
bonds  ;  four  per  cent,  for  duty  ;  six  for  land  tax  ; 
and  an  additional  revenue  tax,  varying  from 
fifteen  to  forty  per  cent.;  say,  at  least,  sixty 
per  cent,  all  told. 

If,  under  the  circumstances,  the  protection 
of  the  American  flag  and  the  good  and 
friendly  offices  of  our  Government  can  be  ex- 
tended to  the  advantage  of  this  little  American 
colony  of  students  in  Rome,  the  favor  will  be 
most  gratefully  appreciated,  not  only  by  the 
eight  millions  of  Catholics  in  this  country,  but, 
I  venture  to  add,  by  all  right-minded  men 
throughout  the  globe. 

I  have,  etc., 

M.  A.  CORRIGAN, 

Coadjutor  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
The  Hon.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen, 

Secretary  of  State. 


176   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

No.  3 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Mr.  Astor 

CABLEGRAM 

Department  of  State, 
Washington,  March  4,  1884. 
Sale  American  College  threatened  under  de- 
cision on  real  estate  of  Propaganda.  College 
virtually  American  property,  purchased  and 
supported  by  American  citizens;  decision 
totally  unexpected.  Cardinal  McCloskey  asks 
stay  of  proceedings  at  least,  if  not  possible  to 
exempt  it  as  American  property.  Confer  with 
officers  of  institution,  and  do  what  the  circum- 
stances and  your  position  properly  permit  to 

^'^  *"^-  Frelinghuysen. 

No.  4 

Archbishop  Corrigan  to  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen 
New  York,  March  5, 1885. 
(Received  March  6.) 
Dear  Sir:  I  fear  that  in  the  hurry  of  the 
moment  I  was  not  sufficiently  clear  and  accu- 


Threatened  Confiscation  177 

rate  in  my  letter  of  yesterday,  and  I  therefore 
beg  to  add  a  word  by  way  of  further  ex- 
planation. 

The  use  of  the  American  College,  Rome, 
was  given  to  the  American  bishops  by  Pius  IX 
through  his  official  agent,  the  Propaganda. 
This  Board  for  Foreign  Missions  bought  the 
premises  with  its  own  funds,  the  accumulations 
of  pious  offerings  of  the  faithful.  In  a  certain 
sense,  then,  the  use  of  the  College  was  the  gift 
of  the  sovereign  ruler;  in  another,  it  was  not 
so  much  a  government  grant  as  the  result  of 
private  charity  received  and  dispensed  by 
Propaganda.  It  was  not  a  government  grant 
in  the  sense  of  being  derived  from  political 
assessments  or  taxes. 

The  College  building  itself  was  erected 
about  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  was  used 
until  the  French  Revolution  as  a  residence  of 
Dominican  Sisters.  Subsequently,  the  Sa- 
lesian  or  Visitation  ISTuns  occupied  it,  until 
they,  in  turn,  were  dispossessed  to  make  way 
for  the  French  soldiers,  who  used  it  as  a  mili- 
tary hospital  from  1847  till  about  1858,  when 


178    History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

the  premises,  having  been  purchased  by  the 
Propaganda,  underwent  thorough  repairs  and 
alteration,  at  the  expense  of  the  American 
bishops,  for  the  reception  of  American  stu- 
dents. AVhen  the  College  was  opened,  in  1859, 
a  Latin  inscription  was  engraved  on  a  marble 
tablet  at  the  landing  of  the  main  staircase,  to 
the  following  effect: 

By  the  provident  care  of  Pope 
Pius  IX,  the  Congregation  of  the 
Propaganda  of  the  Faith  purchased 
for  the  education  of  ecclesiastical  stu- 
dents of  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica this  property,  formerly  owned  by 
the  Visitation  Nuns,  the  bishops  and 
faithful  aiding  the  establishment  of 
so  great  a  work  by  their  contribu- 
tions, A.  D.  1859. 

Please  see  the  original  inscription  on  next 
page. 

Begging  your  indulgence  for  detaining  you 
so  long  by  these  details,  and  venturing  once 


Threatened  Confiscation  179 

more  to  commend  the  College  to  your  kind 
consideration,  I  have,  etc., 

M.  A.  CORRIGAN^ 

Archbishop,  etc. 

Hon.  Fred'k  T.  Frelinghuysen, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D,  C. 

MURAL  TABLET 

Providentia 

D  .  N  .  Pii  IX  .  Pont  .  Max 

Amplificatoris  .  Christiani  .  Nominis 

Quffi  .  domus  .  antiqua  .  fuerat  .  Virginum 

Salesian  .  Hanc  .  Alumnis  .  Americas 

Borealis  .  Foederate  .  In  Ecclesise 

Spam  .  doctrina  .  et  .  pietate  .  excolendis 

Aere  .  suo  .  comparavit  .  congregatio 

Fidei  .  Propagandse  .  Tanti  .  operis 

institutionem    .    collata    .    pecunia    .    juvare 

Catholici  .  cum  .  Episcopis  .  Americae 

An  .  MDCCCLIX 


180   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

No.  5 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Mr.  Astob 

No.  59 

Department  of  State, 
Washington,  March  5,  1884. 
Sir:  In  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  of  1866 
and  1873  the  Itahan  Government  levied  upon 
the  American  College  in  Rome.  Proceedings 
enjoining  the  proposed  conversion  were 
affirmed  by  the  lower  court  upon  announced 
principles  of  such  seeming  force  and  efficiency 
that  the  information  of  the  very  recent  reversal 
of  this  decision  by  the  Supreme  Court  was 
most  unexpected  to  the  many  friends  of  the 
society  in  this  country.  They  have  accordingly 
appealed  to  the  President  in  the  hope  that, 
through  you,  he  may  obtain  from  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  King,  if  not  a  perpetual  abandon- 
ment of  the  impending  sale,  at  least  such  a  stay 
of  proceedings  as  will  enable  them  to  deter- 
mine whether  any  remedy  is  properly  open  to 
them.  In  making  this  request  a  full  reliance 
is  placed  upon  the  consideration  that  although 


Threatened  Confiscation  181 

technically  the  American  College  is  held  by  the 
Propaganda,  it  is  virtually  American  prop- 
erty, and  its  reduction  would  be  attended  with 
the  sacrifice  of  interests  almost  exclusively 
American.  The  exemption  from  the  applica- 
tion of  the  above  laws  is  therefore  hoped,  and 
assuredly  that  the  delay  asked  that  its  Ameri- 
can friends  may  intervene,  if  a  sale  must  occur, 
will  be  accorded. 

You  will  act  upon  the  above  suggestions  in 
such  manner  as  may  seem  to  you  best  for  the 
accomplishment  of  the  desired  result. 

I  am,  etc., 

Fred'k  T.  Frelinghuysen. 
William  W.  Astor,  Esq.,  Rome. 

No.  6 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Archbishop 
corrigan 

Department  of  State, 
Washington,  March  7,  1884. 
Dear  Sir:  Acknowledging  the  receipt  of 
your  letters  of  the  4th  and  5th  instant,  I  beg 


182    History  of  the  American  College,  Rome 

to  say  that  I  have  written  and  telegraphed  to 
our  Minister  at  Rome  to  take  proper  steps  in 
the  matter  of  the  proposed  conversion  of  the 
real  estate  of  the  American  College  there,  and 
shall  send  a  copy  of  your  conmiunications  to 
Mr.  Astor  by  early  mail. 
I  am,  etc., 

Feed'k  T.  Feelinghuysen. 


No.  7 

Aechbishop  Corrigan  to  Mr.  Feeling- 
huysen 

New  York,  March  8,  1884. 
(Received  March  10.) 

Dear  Sir:  Cardinal  McCloskey  desires  me 
to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  favor  of 
yesterday's  date,  and  to  tender  the  expression 
of  his  sincere  thanks  for  the  prompt  attention 
which  has  been  given  to  his  letter  to  the  Presi- 
dent, and  for  the  interest  taken  in  the  protec- 
tion of  the  American  College,  Rome. 

Permit  me,  at  the  same  time,  to  express  my 


Threatened  Confiscation  1 83 

own  obligations  and  indebtedness  to  your  cour- 
tesy, and  to  sign  myself,  dear  sir. 

With  great  respect,  etc., 

M.  A.  CORRIGAN, 

Coadjutor. 

No.  8 

Mr.  Astor  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 

cablegram 

Rome,  March  11,  1884. 
Am  doing  all  possible  to  prevent  sale  of 
College.  . 

®  AsTOR. 

No.  9 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Cardinal 
McCloskey 
Department  of  State, 
Washington,  March  12,  1884. 
Sir:  Referring  to  your  letter  of  the  3d  in- 
stant, I  have  the  pleasure  to  say  that  I  have 
received  a  cablegram  from  Mr.  Astor,  Minister 
at  Rome,  in  the  following  words:  "Am  doing 
all  possible  to  prevent  sale  of  College." 
I  am,  etc.,     ^^m'K  T.  Frelinghuysen. 


184   History  of  the  American  College,  Rome 

No.  10 
Archbishop  Corrigan  to  Mr.  Freling- 

HUYSEN 

452  Madison  Avenue, 
New  York,  March  14,  1884. 
(Received  March  15.) 
Dear  Sir:  Cardinal  McCloskey  requests  me 
to  acknowledge,  with  many  thanks,  the  receipt 
of  your  favor  of  the  12th  instant,  containing 
copy  of  cablegram  received  from  Mr.  Astor, 
Minister  in  Rome. 

'       *'  M.  A.  Corrigan. 

No.  11 
Mr.  Astor  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 
No.  61. 

Legation  of  the  United  States, 

Rome,  March  15,  1884. 
(Received  March  31.) 
Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  receipt 
of  your  cable  despatch  of  the  4th  instant,  in- 
structing me  to  confer  with  the  officers  of  the 
American  College  in  this  city,  and  to  aid  them, 


Threatened  Confiscation  185 

so  far  as  circumstances  permit,  in  exempting 
their  property  from  sale. 

Upon  my  request,  Monsignor  Jacobini,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Propaganda,  accompanied  by 
the  Vice-Rector  of  the  American  College  and 
their  attorney,  called  at  the  legation  and  gave 
me  substantially  the  following  information: 

The  law  of  1866  compelled  the  sale  of 
Church  property  held  in  mortmain  throughout 
Italy;  the  law  of  1873  is  an  application  of  the 
law  of  1866  to  the  city  and  district  of  Rome. 
Its  effect  is  to  oblige  the  conversion  of  lands 
and  property  generally  into  securities  of  the 
Itahan  Government  known  as  "rentes."  The 
Propaganda,  of  which  the  American  College  is 
a  dependency,  has  contested  the  application  of 
this  law  for  ten  years;  the  Court  of  Cassation, 
which  is  the  tribunal  of  final  appeal  in  Italy, 
has  recently  rendered  a  decision  that  the  prop- 
erty of  the  Propaganda  shall  be  sold. 

The  title  to  the  land  and  building  of  the 
American  College  vests  in  the  Propaganda, 
either  by  purchase  or  by  gift  from  the  late 
Pope  Pius  IX.    The  contributions  made  from 


186   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

time  to  time  by  American  Catholic  bishops  and 
congregations,  of  funds  for  scholarships,  for 
maintenance,  and  for  repairs,  constitute  no 
title  to  the  property. 

It  is  claimed,  however,  that  the  law  of  1873 
does  not  contemplate  the  sale  of  buildings  of 
religious  corporations  actually  used  for  re- 
ligious or  scholastic  purposes,  and  that,  hence, 
not  only  the  Propaganda,  but  its  dependency, 
the  American  College,  is  to  be  exempted. 

An  important  distinction  is  claimed  between 
property  from  which  a  revenue  is  derived,  such 
as  farms  or  leased  houses,  and  chapels  or 
schools,  from  which  no  profit  can  be  received, 
and  which  are  used  for  the  religious  and  edu- 
cational purposes  of  the  Propaganda. 

Before  resorting  to  renewed  litigation  upon 
this  issue,  the  authorities  of  the  Propaganda, 
as  represented  by  the  gentlemen  above  named, 
would  very  gladly  avail  themselves  of  the  in- 
tervention authorized  by  your  despatch. 

I  have  visited  Mr.  Mancini,  the  Minister  of 
Italian  Foreign  Affairs,  who  expresses  himself 
very  favorably  disposed  to  apply  the  influence 


Threatened  Confiscation  187 

of  his  office.  Before  determining  how  far  he 
can  properly  proceed,  he  requires  that  all  the 
papers  and  documents  belonging  to  the  case 
be  submitted  for  his  examination.  They  are 
being  prepared  for  his  inspection,  and  pending 
his  decision,  I  submit  the  statement  of  the 
situation. 
I  have,  etc., 

William  Waldorf  Astor. 

No.  12 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Mr.  Astor 

No.  62. 

Department  of  State, 
Washington,  March  20,  1884. 
Sir:  I  enclose  copies  of  telegrams  relating 
to  the  sale  of  the  "American  College"  at  Rome, 
and  of  letters  from  Mr.  Corrigan,  coadjutor 
archbishop  of  New  York,  on  the  subject.^ 
Awaiting  your  report,  I  am,  etc., 

Fred'k  T.  Frelinghuysen. 

*For  inclosures  see  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  cablegram  to  Mr. 
Astor,  Mar.  4,  1884;  see  No.  12,  and  letters  from  Rev.  Dr. 
Corrigan,  ante. 


188   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 
No.  13 

CABLEGRAM 

Rome,  March  28,  1884. 
College  exempted  from  Propaganda  sale. 

ASTOR. 

No.  14 
cablegram 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Mr.  Astor 
Department  of  State, 
Washington,  March  29,  1884. 
Your  course  in  Propaganda  matter  is  com- 
mended.   Express  to  Italian  Government  the 
President's  high  appreciation  of  its  prompt 
and  friendly  action. 

Frelinghuysen. 

No.  15 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Cardinal 
]\IcCloskey 

Department  of  State, 
Washington,  March  29,  1884. 
Sir:  Referring  to  the  letter  of  your  Emi- 
nence of  the  3d  instant,  and  to  other  correspon- 


Threatened  Confiscation  189 

dence  touching  the  apprehended  conversion  of 
the  American  College  property  into  bonds, 
etc.,  I  have  the  honor  to  say  that  the  following 
cablegram,  dated  yesterday,  has  been  received 
from  our  minister  in  Rome,  viz.,  "College  ex- 
empted from  Propaganda  sale." 
I  have,  etc., 

Fred'k  T.  Frelinghuysen. 


No.  16 
Mr.  Astor  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 

No.  63. 

Legation  of  the  United  States, 

Rome,  March  31,  1884. 
(Received  April  14.) 
Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  herewith  a 
copy  and  translation  of  a  note  from  Mr.  Man- 
cini, Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  to  Signor 
Savelli,  Minister  of  Peace  and  Justice,  and  also 
copy  and  translation  of  the  answer  of  Signor 
Savelli  to  Signor  Mancini,  by  which  it  appears 
that  in  consideration  of  the  equities  in  the  case 
of  the  American  College  in  this  city,  it  is  the 


190   History  of  the  American  College.Rovie 

determination  of  the  Italian  Government  to 
exempt  that  building  from  the  sale  of  the  prop- 
erty of  the  Propaganda  Fide  recently  ordered 
to  be  made  by  the  Court  of  Cassation. 

Signor  Mancini  showed  me  the  original  of 
the  enclosed  copy  of  the  note  of  Signor 
Savelli  on  the  28th  instant,  and  on  the  even- 
ing of  that  day  I  cabled  the  Department, 
"American  College  is  exempted  from  Propa- 
ganda sale." 

I  have  caused  copies  of  these  communica- 
tions to  be  addressed  to  the  Vice-Rector  of  the 
College. 

I  am,  etc., 

William  Waldorf  Astor. 

(Inclosure  1  in  No.  63. — Translation.) 

Extract  from  a  note  of  March  21,  1884,  of 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  the  Minister 
of  Peace  and  Justice: 

The  examination  of  documents  has  quickly 
convinced  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  that 
the  building  where  the  American  College  in 
Rome  is  situated  should  not  in  any  way  be 


Threatened  Confiscation  191 

confounded  with  the  real  estate  of  the  Propa- 
ganda which  has  been  ordered  to  be  sold 
under  a  recent  decree  of  the  Court  of  Cassa- 
tion, in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  1866 
and  1873. 

It  is  true  that  this  building  was  originally 
bought  with  money  furnished  by  the  Propa- 
ganda, but  the  intention  of  the  pontifical 
founder  from  the  beginning  was  to  establish 
there  in  perpetuity  a  college  or  ecclesiastical 
school.  Besides  it  should  be  observed  that  for 
the  repairs  and  adaptation  of  the  building  for 
this  object  a  still  larger  sum  was  raised  by  con- 
tributions in  the  American  dioceses. 

The  seat  of  the  American  College  has  all  the 
characteristics  of  an  institution  which  Article 
18  of  the  Law  of  July  6,  1866,  exempts  from 
sale.  Thus  it  is  not  doubted  by  the  JNIinistry 
of  Foreign  Affairs  that  this  edifice  is  a  "school 
building,"  and  as  such  should  be  exempt  from 
sale,  and  in  case  the  Ministry  of  Peace  and 
Justice  takes  the  same  view,  it  is  asked  that  the 
commission  for  the  sale  of  ecclesiastical  prop- 
erty be  notified  to  that  effect. 


192   History  of  the  American  College.Itome 

(Inclosure  2  in  No.  63. — Translation.) 

The  JMinister  of  Peace  and  Justice  to  the 
INIinister  of  Foreign  Affairs  : 

Rome,  March  25,  1884. 

I  hasten  to  inform  your  ministry  that,  in 
conformity  with  the  opinion  expressed  in  its 
note  of  March  21,  1884,  and  for  the  reasons 
contained  in  the  same  note,  I  have  requested 
the  royal  director  of  the  commission  for  the 
sale  of  certain  ecclesiastical  property  in  Rome 
to  exempt  from  that  sale  the  building  where 
the  American  College  or  Seminary  has  its  seat 
in  this  city.  ^j^^  Minister, 

Savelli. 
No.  17 

Archbishop  Corrigan  to  JNIr.  Freling- 

HUYSEN 

New  York,  April  1,  1884. 
(Received  April  2.) 
Dear  Sir:  In  the  name  of  Cardinal  ]\IcClos- 
key,  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  re- 
ceipt of  your  favor  of  the  29th  ultimo,  which 
conveys  the  gratifying  intelligence  that  the 


Threatened  Confiscation  193 

American  College  in  Rome  has  been  exempted 
from  the  sale  impending  over  the  property  of 
the  Propaganda. 

His  Eminence  begs  to  tender  his  sincere 
thanks  to  His  Excellency  the  President,  to 
your  good  self,  and  to  Mr.  Astor,  minister  resi- 
dent in  Rome,  for  the  very  courteous,  prompt, 
and  efficacious  interest  taken  in  this  matter. 
Besides  expressing  his  own  indebtedness  for 
the  good  offices  of  the  Government,  so  kindly 
and  so  successfully  interposed,  the  Cardinal 
feels  that  he  may  also,  in  the  premises,  make 
himself  the  interpreter  of  the  gratitude  of  the 
other  bishops  of  the  United  States  as  well,  and 
of  the  entire  Catholic  population. 

I  am,  etc.,        ^^  ^  Corrigan, 

Coadjutor  Archbishop. 

No.  18 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Mr.  Astor 

Department  of  State, 
Washington,  D.  C,  April  15,  1884. 
Sir:  I  enclose  a  copy  of  a  communication 


194    History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

from  Archbishoj)  Corrigan,  conveying  an  ex- 
pression of  gratitude  for  the  action  which  re- 
sulted in  the  exemption  from  sale  of  the 
American  College  at  Rome,  under  the  decree 
of  court;  also  copies  of  telegrams. 
I  am,  etc., 

Fred'k  T.  Frelinghuysen. 

H.  Ex.  143-3.  End 

S.  Congregazione  di  Propaganda, 

Segreteria, 
No.  1522. 
Oggetto. 

Roma,  le  7  Aprile,  1884. 
Illme  AC  Rme.  Domine  : 

Labores  ac  solicitudines  Amplitudinis  Tuge 
ad  utilitatem  Collegii  Americani  f elicem  exitum 
sortitse  sunt  ita  ut  gubernium  Italicum  a  con- 
versione immobilium  pr^edictum  Collegium 
exemptum  esse  declaravit.  Propter  hoc  magna 
affectus  sum  laetitia;  et  Amplitudini  Tua2 
gratulor  et  gratias  ago  de  omnibus  quas  ad  hoc 
negotium  feliciter  resolvendum  Amplitudo 
Tua  operata  est. 


Threatened  Confiscation  195 

Interim  Deum  precor  ut  te  divitissime  sos- 
pitet. 

A.  T. 

Ad  officia  paratissimus, 

Joannes  Card.  Simeoni, 

Prsefectiis. 
D.  Archiep.  Tyren, 

Secratus. 
R.  P.  D.  MiCHAELi  Aug.  Corrigan, 

Archiepo.  Petrem. 
Coad.  Emi.  Archiepi.  Neo  Eboracen. 

TRANSLATION 

S.  Cong,  of  Prop., 

Secretary's  Office, 
No.  1522.  Object: 

Rome,  April  7,  1884. 
Most  Illustrious  and  Most  Reverend  Sir: 
The  labors  and  solicitude  of  your  Excel- 
lency for  the  benefit  of  the  American  College 
have  succeeded  so  that  the  Italian  Government 
has  declared  the  immovables  of  the  College  ex- 
empt. On  this  account  I  am  filled  with  great 
joy;  and  I  congratulate  your  Excellency,  and 


196   History  of  the  American  College  jEome 

give  you  thanks  for  all  that  you  have  done 
toward  bringing  about  this  happy  result. 

In  the  meantime,  I  pray  God  to  bestow  on 
you  His  choicest  gifts. 

Your  Excellency's 

Most  obedient  servant, 
John  C^ìed.  Simeoni, 

Prefect. 

D.  Archb.  Tyren, 

Secretary. 

R.  P.  D.  MiCH.\EL  Aug.  Corrigan, 
Archbishop  of  Petra, 

Coadjutor  to  His  Eminence  Arch- 
bishop of  New  York. 


CHAPTER  VII 

LIFE  IN  THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGE 

From  the  ''Messenger  of  the  Sacred  Heart" 
January,  189  G 

By  L.  S. 

rpHE  following  article  from  the  able  pen  of 
-■•  a  distinguished  alumnus  gives  a  delight- 
ful sketch  of  the  daily  life  of  the  students  of 
the  College,  and  can  not  fail  to  interest  all  those 
who  have  the  welfare  of  this  glorious  institu- 
tion at  heart. 

It  was,  I  think,  James  Russell  Lowell  who 
said  that  there  is  an  education  in  even  rubbing 
up  against  the  walls  of  an  institution  like  Har- 
vard. With  how  much  greater  truth  and  force 
may  this  remark  be  applied  to  student  life  in 
Rome.  Rome,  the  City  of  the  Soul,  the  city, 
"the  stones  of  whose  streets,"  as  Barthelemy 
expresses  it  with  excusable  hyperbole,  "are 
wiser  than  the  men  of  other  lands." 

197 


198   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

With  intellectual  advantages  inferior  to  none 
of  our  American  centers  of  learning,  there  is 
besides  an  education  of  environment  and  con- 
tact, a  training  for  heart  and  eye  and  ear,  deep 
and  far-reaching  in  its  formative  influence, 
and  which  is  nowhere  else  to  be  attained.  Xot 
one  walk  through  her  narrow  streets  but  calls 
to  mind  the  history  of  the  world's  greatest 
heroes.  Monuments  of  all  that  is  grand  and 
glorious,  in  pagan  as  well  as  Christian  civiliza- 
tion, meet  you  at  every  step.  In  retrospect  we 
see  the  Forum  once  more  crowded  with  a  motley 
multitude  hanging  on  the  lips  of  a  Cicero  or 
Hortensius,  her  senators  seated  in  gravest  con- 
sultation on  measures  to  resist  the  open  enemy 
thundering  at  the  city's  gates,  or  to  expel  the 
more  insidious  foe  that  lurks  within  her  walls. 

There  are  places  that  will  ever  be  associated 
with  all  that  is  best  and  purest  in  our  nature, 
witnesses  of  heroic  endurance  and  a  faith 
stronger  than  death  in  its  unflinching  profes- 
sion and  practice;  and  there  are  places  from 
which  we  recoil  with  horror,  and  whose  annals 
of  debauchery  and  sin  we  would  fain  erase 


Life  intìie  American  College  199 

from  the  history  of  the  human  race.  And  one 
there  is,  the  grandest  ruin  of  them  all,  the 
Coliseum,  which  bodies  forth  this  double  heri- 
tage of  good  and  evil,  and  from  its  ivy-mantled 
walls  tells  at  once  the  story  of  all  that  is  gross 
and  degrading,  ennobling  and  saintly. 

There  are  art  galleries  and  halls  of  sculpture 
to  delight  the  eye  and  instruct  the  mind;  vast 
churches  and  rich  shrines,  which  even  from  an 
architectural  and  esthetic  standpoint  command 
our  highest  admiration  and  esteem.  Naj^,  even 
in  this  her  day  of  decadence,  when,  as  the 
peasant  song  of  the  Campagna  puts  it,  "Rome, 
Rome  is  no  longer  what  it  was,"  when  the 
queenly  robes  have  fallen  from  her  shoulders, 
and  she  sits  by  the  sluggish  waters  of  the  Tiber, 
disfigured  and  begrimed  by  the  inroads  of 
modern  improvements  and  socialistic  ideas,  she 
teaches  an  object-lesson  of  gravest  import — 
the  lesson  that  the  dream  of  a  united  Italy 
was  an  empt}^  phantom,  and  that  Rome's  only 
true  greatness  and  prosperity  rests  on  this,  that 
she  is  the  City  of  the  Popes. 

So  far,  we  have  but  looked  on  Rome  as  she 


200   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

appeals  to  the  heart  and  intelhgence  of  the 
ordinary  traveler  or  lay  student.  But  for  him 
whom  God  has  called  to  His  sacred  ministry 
and  granted  some  sj)iritual  insight  into  the 
things  about  him,  how  much  deeper  is  the  influ- 
ence exercised  by  studying  in  the  Eternal  City. 
His  work  is  done  beneath  the  inspiring  glance 
of  Christ's  Vicar  on  earth,  and  her  basilicas  and 
catacombs  and  shrines  are  all  so  many  open 
books  wherein  are  written  the  brightest  pages 
of  the  Church's  history,  practical  lessons  of 
Faith,  and  Hope,  and  Charity,  perpetual  in- 
centives to  noblest  thought  and  deed  in  emu- 
lation of  those  who  have  so  gloriously  gone  be- 
fore us  in  this  divinest  of  all  works,  the  salva- 
tion of  souls. 

But  let  us  not  give  too  full  a  sway  to  the 
feelings  which  crowd  in  upon  us  as  we  turn  in 
thought  to  the  days  of  our  student  life.  Let 
us  imagine  that  we  have  reached  the  doorsteps 
of  the  North  American  College.  An  Italian 
servant  answers  our  ring,  and  a  moment  later 
we  are  bidden  cordial  welcome  to  Rome  by  the 
Rt.  Rev.  Rector.     Equally  cordial,  but  more 


Life  in  the  A merican  College  201 

demonstrative,  is  the  welcome  extended  by  the 
students.  We  at  once  feel  at  home,  and  the 
noon  recreation  finds  ''the  newcomers"  busily 
engaged  in  answering  a  hundred  questions  as 
to  things  and  persons  in  dear  America. 

A  few  days  of  rest,  and  then  when  the  nov- 
elty of  our  surroundings  has  worn  away  there 
comes  the  incident  which,  of  all  others,  marks 
the  line  of  demarcation  between  our  past  and 
present  life,  the  reception  (if  I  may  so  call  it) 
of  the  cassock,  for  it  has,  in  the  number  of 
accidental  changes  it  involves,  something  akin 
to  the  reception  of  the  religious  habit.  In  our 
home  seminaries  this  does  not  mean  so  much. 
Every  walk  finds  the  seminarian  of  Troy  and 
Baltimore  once  more  in  civilian  clothes,  albeit 
his  coat  has  attained  a  canonical  length,  and 
the  stately  beaver  lends  height  and  dignity  to 
his  youthful  years.  Then,  too,  his  vacations 
are  not  necessarily  marked  by  the  use  of  the 
cassock.  But  in  Rome  it  is  quite  otherwise. 
The  cassock  once  assumed  is  worn  throughout 
the  whole  course. 

The  details  of  this  "taking"  of  the  cassock 


202    History  of  the  American  College^Eome 

may  not  be  without  interest.  First,  our  coat, 
if  of  clerical  cut,  is  solemnly  entombed,  with 
camphor,  in  our  bureau  drawers,  to  await  the 
distant  day  of  resurrection,  some  six  years 
hence.  Then  one  last  look  at  our  pantaloons 
as  we  lay  them  aside  to  don  the  knickerbockers 
and  long  black  stockings  of  early  boyhood. 
Our  natty  button  gaiters,  with  their  pointed 
toes,  are  the  next  sacrifice,  giving  place  to  a 
low-cut  shoe  of  generous  size  and  thin  sole. 
When  ordained,  we  may  adorn  them  with  silver 
buckles,  but  for  the  present  nothing  so  pre- 
tentious is  to  be  thought  of.  Then  comes  the 
cassock  of  heavy  black  cloth,  made  after  the 
fashion  we  have  associated  with  the  habit  worn 
by  the  Jesuits  of  this  country,  but  with  this 
difference,  that  it  is  held  at  the  neck  by  three 
red  buttons,  and  a  wide  red  cincture  encircles 
the  waist.  How  awkward  we  feel  the  first  few 
days,  and  how  our  mothers  and  sisters  would 
laugh  if  they  could  see  us  stumbling  up  the 
stone  stairs,  from  neglect  of  the  feminine  pre- 
caution of  raising  the  cassock  in  front. 

In  winter,  a  long,  heavy  coat,  with  cape,  is 


Life  in  the  American  College  203 

worn  indoors,  and,  of  course,  at  all  seasons,  the 
biretta.  But  the  street  dress  is  still  more  of  a 
novelty — a  big  three-cornered  hat  and  a  shape- 
less coat  without  sleeves.  From  the  shoulders 
there  hang  down  two  broad  strips  of  cloth — 
our  leading  strings — the  distinctive  badge  of 
student-life.  The  wearer  of  this  coat — the 
zimarra,  as  it  is  called,  in  contradistinction  to 
the  ferrajuolo,  or  cloak  worn  bj^  priests — must 
never  go  without  a  companion  ;  and  in  the  good 
old  days  of  the  Popes,  if  found  alone,  he  was 
liable  to  arrest  as  a  truant. 

So  great  a  change  in  our  outward  trappings 
naturally  carries  along  with  it  a  marked  in- 
crease of  external  modesty,  but  there  yet  re- 
mains in  our  carriage  an  air  of  freedom  and 
independence  which  says  plainer  than  words 
that,  even  to  the  detriment  of  evangelical 
meekness,  we  are  prepared  to  defend  our  rights 
within  due  limits.  This  fact  is  fully  appreci- 
ated by  the  Roman  rabble,  and  it  is  no  uncom- 
mon occurrence  to  see  a  crowd  of  roughs 
insulting  a  band  of  Italian  clerics,  while  gli 
Americani  pass  by  unmolested.  Twice  only  did 


204   History  of  the  American  College.Ilome 

I  witness  anything  to  the  contrary.  One  of 
these  incidents  will  throw  light  on  the  reason 
for  keeping  at  a  respectful  distance. 

A  band  of  Americans  were  walking  two  by 
two,  as  is  the  custom,  across  the  large  piazza 
in  front  of  the  Quirinal  Palace,  the  residence 
of  the  usurping  king.  Suddenly  two  Italians 
headed  straight  toward  our  ranks  with  the  in- 
tention of  breaking  through.  But  they  had 
mistaken  the  character  of  the  foe.  In  a  second 
a  strong  right  arm  had  shot  forward  into  the 
face  of  the  aggressor.  "Don't  stop  the  ranks," 
called  out  the  prefect,  and  without  even  get- 
ting out  of  step,  the  line  moved  forward  to  the 
broad  marble  stairway  leading  dow^n  to  our 
dear  Via  dell'  Umiltà.  For  a  rowdy,  the  world 
over,  the  most  effective  means  of  persuasion  is 
the  knock-down  argument,  and  from  an 
American  standpoint,  I  think  there  would  be 
a  material  change  in  the  relations  of  Church 
and  State  if  Italian  students  saw  fit  to  employ 
it  occasionally  against  their  assailants. 

But  great  as  is  the  change  in  our  external 
appearance  and   despite  the  conclusion  that 


Life  in  the  American  College  205 

might  be  drawn  from  the  incident  just  related, 
greater  still  is  the  change  that  is  effected  in 
what  regards  our  interior  life.  Let  the  words 
of  a  distinguished  professor  of  theology  bear 
me  out  in  this  assertion:  "Your  American  stu- 
dent walks  around  as  if  he  owned  the  College, 
but  more  docile,  obedient,  hard-working  men 
I  have  never  met  among  the  students  of  any 
nation."  Some,  perhaps,  may  have  acquired 
these  virtues  during  their  school-days  at  home, 
but  for  the  majority,  they  are  the  result  of  the 
deep  religious  spirit,  the  charity,  the  discipline 
which  reign  within  the  walls  of  the  American 
College. 

The  life  of  a  Roman  student  is  not  an  easy 
one,  but  the  life,  too,  of  a  zealous,  earnest 
priest,  whether  in  city  or  country,  is  essentially 
laborious  and  attended  with  hardship  and  self- 
sacrifice,  and  well  then  it  is  that  the  prepara- 
tion for  the  sacred  ministry  should  not  be 
wanting  in  things  that  are  not  pleasing  to  flesh 
and  blood.  To  sweep  and  tidy  one's  own  room 
and  to  be  reprimanded  when  these  duties  are 
not  faithfully  performed,  to  be  obliged  to  ask 


206   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

permission  for  even  the  smallest  articles  of 
clothing  and  sometimes  to  be  refused,  to  be 
subject  in  a  dozen  little  details  to  a  prefect  ap- 
pointed from  our  own  or  perhaps  a  lower  class, 
to  have  our  sermon  publicly  criticized  in  the 
refectory,  to  observe  silence  at  meals  and  to  lift 
our  birettas  in  humble  acknowledgment  of  a 
correction  in  our  reading  at  table,  to  have  each 
Sunday  our  companion  for  the  week's  walks 
assigned  us — all  these  and  innumerable  other 
points  of  college  discipline  are  indeed  hard  in 
the  beginning;  and  on  English  nights,  as  they 
are  called  in  contradistinction  to  the  nights 
when  we  are  obliged  to  speak  Italian  in  recrea- 
tion, we  often  sang  with  special  emphasis  and 
vigor  the  concluding  words  of  a  well-known 
darkey  song,  "Oh,  why  was  I  tempted  to 
roam  (Rome)." 

And  then  when  the  winter  nights  have  come, 
with  never  a  fire  to  warm  our  shivering  limbs, 
and  the  sirocco  spreading  its  dampness  round 
about  till  wall  and  desk  are  dripping  with 
moisture,  and  we  wrap  our  cloaks  about  us,  and 
with  desperate  energy  apply  ourselves  during 


Life  in  the  American  College  207 

the  long  evening  study,  from  5.15  till  7.45,  to 
the  task  of  mastering  philosophy  and  theology, 
there  are  times  when  our  hearts  sink  within  us, 
and  only  the  thought  of  our  vocation  and  of  the 
frail  Visitandine  nun  who  had  suffered  greater 
hardships  in  the  narrow  cell  we  now  occupy 
spurs  us  on  to  courage  in  our  work.  All  this, 
as  I  have  said  before,  is  hard,  but  it  was  borne 
cheerfully  and  without  a  murmur,  and  after- 
years  have  revealed  the  influence  these  trials 
exercised  in  the  formation  of  our  characters. 
What  Roman  is  there  who  would  not  willingly 
undergo  them  again,  and  who,  if  asked  as  to 
the  advisability  of  studying  in  Rome,  would 
not  answer  by  hearty  congratulations  to  the 
young  student  to  whom  his  bishop  had  made 
this  offer? 

But  we  are  once  more  giving  too  full  a  sway 
to  sentiment  and  reminiscence,  and  deserting 
the  work  we  had  proposed  ourselves,  namely, 
to  describe  the  life  of  a  student  of  the  Ameri- 
can College. 

First  of  all,  to  put  the  question  as  it  has  been 
often  asked  me,  "What  is  the  American  Col- 


208   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

lege,  and  who  are  its  professors?"  At  the  very 
outset  I  must  remove  a  misapprehension.  If 
by  a  college  you  understand  a  place  where 
classes  are  held,  and  the  classics  or  higher 
branches  are  taught,  the  American  College  is 
not  a  college  at  all  ;  for  if  we  except  ecclesiasti- 
cal chant  and  ceremonies,  it  has  neither  classes 
nor  professors.  For  all  instruction  the  stu- 
dents go  to  the  Propaganda.  The  same  re- 
mark applies  to  the  Irish  and  Greek  Colleges, 
whose  members  also  attend  the  lectures 
of  the  Propaganda,  and  to  the  German, 
Scotch,  English,  and  the  other  national  col- 
leges whose  students  go  to  the  Gregorian 
University. 

Is  it  then  simply  a  boarding-house?  Again 
our  questioner  is  as  far  from  the  truth  as  in 
his  first  conjecture.  The  American  College 
is  in  the  highest  and  fullest  sense  of  the  term 
a  seminary  where  students  who  are  supposed 
to  be  of  more  than  ordinary  ability  are  sent 
from  the  different  dioceses  of  the  United  States 
to  prepare  themselves  for  the  priesthood.  A 
brief  glance  at  its  foundation  and  history,  and 


Life  in  the  American  College  209 

the  daily  order  of  exercises,  will  give  the  best 
insight  into  its  character  and  aims. 

"Pope  Pius  IX,"  said  the  present  gloriously 
reigning  Pontiff  (Leo  XIII) ,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  Silver  Jubilee  of  the  College  in  1884, 
"entertained  a  great  love  for  the  people  of  the 
United  States.  But  I  want  it  distinctly  under- 
stood that  I  yield  to  him  in  nothing  with  re- 
gard to  love  for  my  dear  Americans."  The 
truth  and  sincerity  of  this  assertion  have 
since  been  confirmed  by  innumerable  favors. 
Among  these  marks  of  loving  esteem,  the 
establishment  of  the  Apostolic  Legation  holds 
the  first  rank,  and  it  is  worthy  of  notice  in  this 
connection  that  the  American  students  were 
always  the  special  favorites  of  Monsignor 
Satolli — a  fact,  no  doubt,  which  had  no  slight 
weight  in  determining  his  selection  as  Legate 
to  this  country.  Then,  too,  our  hearts  are  still 
re-echoing  the  beautiful  and  wholesome  lessons 
of  the  Bull  "Longinqua,"  with  its  striking 
commendation  of  Alma  Mater. 

But  we  must  remember  that  we  owe  to 
Pius  IX  the  College's  foundation.    It  was  at 


210    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

his  suggestion  that  it  sprang  into  existence,  and 
it  was  his  personal  donation  of  $^0,000  that 
purchased  the  Visitandine  Convent  of  Umiltà, 
now  occupied  by  the  College.  On  December  8, 
1859,  the  Xorth  American  College  was  for- 
mali}^ opened,  and  the  group  of  thirteen  rep- 
resented in  our  picture  were  its  first  students. 
Some  were  already  students  of  the  Propa- 
ganda, and  their  uniform  is  that  now  worn  by 
the  students  of  that  great  institution.  The 
senior  of  the  band  and  the  first  prefect  was 
Dr.  Edward  JMcGlynn,^  then  a  deacon.  A 
little  study  of  our  group  will  disclose  the 
features  of  the  present  Archbishops  of  New 
York  and  San  Francisco,  Bishop  Xorthrop, 
INIonsignor  (now  Archbishop)  Seton,  Father 
Poole  of  Staten  Island,  Dr.  Reuben  Parsons, 
and  the  aged  Father  ^Meriwether,  S.J.,  now 
Spiritual  Father  of  the  Novitiate,  Macon,  Ga. 
The  first  to  act  as  rector  was  the  venerable 
Benedictine,  Dr.  Bernard  Smith.  His  suc- 
cessor was  the  Rt.  Rev.  George  IMcCloskey, 

^Dr.  McGlynn  was  never  considered  by  himself  or  by  liis 
contemporaries  as  an  alumnus  of  the  American  College. 


Life  in  the  American  College  211 

D.D.,  the  present  Bishop  of  Louisville,  Ky. 
(lately  deceased).  Next  came  Dr.  Silas  Cha- 
tard,  afterward  promoted  to  the  See  of  Vin- 
cennes,  Ind.  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Louis  Host- 
lot,  D.D.,  then  took  up  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment, till  his  untimely  death  on  the  eve,  as  it 
was  rumored,  of  his  elevation  to  the  Episco- 
pate, cut  short  a  career  of  great  promise. 
Father  Schulte,  of  Philadelphia,  who  had  been 
vice-rector  under  Mgr.  Hostlot,  continued  to 
act  as  rector  for  nearly  two  years,  until  the 
appointment  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  O'Connell, 
D.D.,  who  is  now  succeeded  by  the  Very 
(Most)  Rev.  W.  H.  O'Connell  (now  Arch- 
bishop) of  Boston,  Mass.  Among  the  vice- 
rectors  were  Fathers  Metcalf  and  Deasy  of 
Boston,  Dr.  McDevitt  of  Cincinnati,  Dr. 
Francis  Wall  of  New  York,  and  Dr.  Fred- 
erick Z.  Rooker  of  Albany,  the  present  Secre- 
tary of  the  Apostolic  Legation  (consecrated 
afterward  Bishop  of  Jaro,  P.  I.;  latety  de- 
ceased). The  last  named  shared  with  Dr. 
Edward  Hanna  of  Rochester  the  additional 
honor  of  holding  for  a  time  the  chair  of  theol- 


212   History  of  the  American  College.Eome 

ogy  in  the  Propaganda.  Less  widely  known 
than  the  rectors,  but  an  equally  important  fac- 
tor in  the  mental  and  spiritual  training  of  the 
students,  was  the  humble  and  learned  Dr. 
Ubaldi,  remembered,  perhaps,  in  this  country 
as  the  bearer  of  the  cardinal's  hat  to  Arch- 
bishop McCloskey. 

Inaugurated  under  the  auspices  of  Mary 
Immaculate,  the  College  has  gone  rapidly  for- 
ward till  its  fourteen  students  of  '59  have 
grown  to  seventy-five  in  '94,  and  the  entire 
band  of  the  olden  days  would  scarcely  form  a 
camerata  at  present  writing. 

The  word  "camerata"  throws  us  at  once  in 
medias  res.  Coming  from  the  word  camera, 
or  room,  it  serves  to  designate  the  bands  of 
fifteen  or  more  into  wliich  the  students  are 
divided,  and  such  divisions,  whether  because 
based  on  proximity  of  rooms  or  because  of  the 
common  recreation  room,  are  denominated  a 
camerata.  Save  in  the  recreation  after  dinner 
and  during  the  vacation,  there  is  supposed  to 
be  no  communication  between  these  bands,  and 
"a  mix"  or  common  assembhng  is  one  of  the 


Life  in  the  American  College  213 

privileges  of  a  few  great  feasts.  At  the  head 
of  each  division  is  a  prefect,  responsible  to  the 
rector  for  the  good  order  of  things  in  his  sec- 
tion. His  chief  duties  are  to  give  permission  to 
talk  to  another  during  time  of  study,  to  see 
that  none  are  absent  from  community  exer- 
cises and  that  all  rise  and  retire  promptly,  to 
assign  companions  for  walks,  and  to  determine 
their  objective  point.  As  a  mark  of  honor  he 
walks  in  the  last  place  to  the  right  of  the  line. 
Next  in  authority  comes  the  beadle,  who,  in 
the  absence  of  the  prefect,  discharges  these 
various  duties,  and  on  walks  holds  the  first 
place  on  the  right  of  the  advancing  column. 

The  order  of  the  day  is  briefly  as  follows: 
5.30 — rising,  morning  prayers,  and  medita- 
tion; 6.30 — Mass,  immediately  followed  by 
breakfast  ;  7.50 — rain  or  shine,  we  fall  in  ranks 
to  go  to  class  at  the  Propaganda.  At  10  o'clock 
we  return  home  for  study  till  11.50,  when  a 
ten  minutes'  examination  of  conscience  pre- 
cedes dinner;  12.45  to  1.30  recreation  in  the 
garden.  There  are  two  hours  of  class  in  the 
afternoon,  and  a  walk  of  an  hour  and  a  half. 


214   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

but  the  time  of  these  exercises  varies  according 
to  the  season  of  the  year  and  the  consequent 
change  of  the  hour  of  the  Ave  Maria  or  sunset. 
The  general  rule  is  that  class  begins  three 
hours  and  a  half  before  the  Ave,  and  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  walk.  During  this  walk  a  ten  min- 
utes' visit  is  made  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
and  the  church  selected  is,  if  wùthin  easy  reach, 
the  one  whose  feast  is  celebrated  that  day.  All 
the  remaining  time,  whether  before  or  after 
class,  is  devoted  to  study  up  to  7.35,  when  we 
have  beads  and  spiritual  reading  in  common; 
8 — supper;  8.30  to  9.30 — recreation.  Night 
prayers  are  then  said,  and  the  preparation  of 
the  points  for  the  morning  meditation  made. 
A  "good  night"  visit  to  Our  Lord  in  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  a  few  short  prayers  before 
favorite  jDictures  of  the  Madonna  and  St. 
Joseph  in  the  corridor,  and  our  day's  labors  are 
brought  peacefully  and  holily  to  a  close. 

Substantially  the  same  order  of  time  obtains 
on  holidays,  except  that  the  time  that  would  be 
given  to  class  is  added  to  the  ordinary  time  for 
walk.    Even  in  the  vacation  there  is  no  curtail- 


Life  in  the  American  College  215 

ment  of  the  hours  allotted  to  study.  Sundays 
and  holy  days  are  invariably  observed  by 
Solemn  High  JNIass  at  8.30  and  Vespers  in  the 
afternoon.  These  services  take  place  in  the 
beautiful  little  church  attached  to  the  College. 
Its  variegated  marble  walls,  its  life-size  statue 
of  the  amiable  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  a  masterly 
oil  painting  of  the  Madonna,  and  the  organ 
loft,  cut  off  from  view  by  an  elaborately  carved 
grill,  give  ample  evidence  of  the  rich  endow- 
ment, taste,  and  cloistral  life  of  our  prede- 
cessors, the  daughters  of  De  Chantal. 

The  domestic  chapel,  where  ordinary  com- 
munity exercises  are  held,  is  less  rich  in  orna- 
ments, but  the  marble  floor  and  heavy  oak 
choir-stalls  are  relics  of  other  days.  A  charm- 
ing garden,  with  waving  palms  and  inviting 
fig  and  orange  trees,  ends  in  this,  as  in  all  other 
Italian  monasteries  I  have  seen,  the  vision  of 
comfort  and  attractiveness.  The  long,  narrow 
refectory  with  its  wooden  benches,  the  small, 
low-doored  cells,  with  their  brick  floors  and 
scanty  furniture,  which  preach  a  sermon  silent, 
yet  eloquent,  of  the  virtues  of  penance  and  self- 


216   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

denial,  make  us  partakers  in  the  discomforts, 
if  not  the  merits,  of  the  rehgious  life. 

But  you  must  not  conclude  that  ours  was 
but  a  piety  borrowed  from  the  surroundings. 
There  was  a  spirit,  all  our  own,  infused  into 
deed  and  thought,  a  spirit  of  ardent  devotion 
and  unflagging  labor,  and,  above  all,  a  spirit 
of  the  deepest  fraternal  charity  seldom  within 
my  experience  equaled,  never  surpassed.  Kept 
alive  by  frequent  communion — nearly  all  ap- 
proached the  Holy  Table  three  or  four  times 
a  week,  and  the  sacrament  of  Penance  twice — 
it  rested  on  the  firm  basis  laid  b}^  the  annual 
retreat,  and  was  strengthened  and  inflamed  by 
triduums  of  the  spiritual  exercises  at  Easter 
and  Pentecost.  These  triduums  were  gen- 
erally given  in  Italian,  and  were  to  some  extent 
lost  on  the  newcomers.  Of  my  first  triduum 
I  caught  scarcely  more  than  the  words,  "Gesù 
e  Gesù  crocifisso,"  but  as  St.  Paul  assures  us 
that  "Jesus  and  Jesus  crucified"  is  the  sum  of 
all  knowledge,  I  can  well  believe  that  even 
these  days  of  prayer  and  meditation  were  not 
without  spiritual  fruit. 


Life  in  the  American  College  2 17 

But  if  you  are  not  ashamed  of  our  big  hat 
and  shapeless  coat  and  leading  strings,  come 
and  accompany  us  to  school.  A  Hail  Mary, 
a  prayer  for  protection  to  our  Guardian  Angel, 
and  the  signal  to  start  is  given  by  the  invo- 
cation, "Immaculate  Virgin,  help  us."  Our 
first  visit,  of  course,  will  be  to  the  Propaganda, 
a  walk  of  little  over  l^ve  minutes.  In  passing 
we  notice  the  huge  Trevi  Fountain,  famous  in 
its  tradition  that  whoever  drinks  of  its  waters 
will  live  to  return  to  Rome.  Then  there  is  the 
Church  of  San  Andrea  delle  Fratte,  where  Our 
Lady  appeared  to  Alphonse  Ratisbonne.  It 
is  not  yet  eight  o'clock,  but  perhaps  we  may 
meet  and  salute  a  Cardinal  even  at  this 
early  hour,  or  more  likely  still,  exchange  greet- 
ings with  the  old  Professor  of  Arabic,  the  only 
one  of  a  famous  class  of  twenty-six  who  did 
not  become  a  bishop — the  class  of  which  the 
brilliant  Bishop  Lynch  of  Charleston  was  the 
acknowledged  leader,  and  the  late  Mgr.  Cor- 
coran, of  the  "Catholic  Quarterly,"  a  member. 
The  big  bell  is  just  ringing  for  class,  and  Irish 
and  American,  Greek  and  Armenian,  Francis- 


218   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

can  friar  and  black-gowned  Servite  of  INlary, 
are  entering  the  great  doorway  of  the  Propa- 
ganda. 

As  we  mount  the  stairs  a  mammoth  picture 
of  the  meeting  of  PhiHp  Neri  and  the  ambi- 
tious young  cleric  meets  our  gaze,  and  the  re- 
peated E  2^oi  (and  then)  of  the  saintly  founder 
of  the  Oratorians  reads  the  lesson  of  studying 
with  a  pure  intention,  and  not  through  hope 
of  a  doctorate  or  ecclesiastical  preferment.  In 
the  hallway  above  the  students  of  the  Proj^a- 
ganda  proper  are  issuing  forth  from  half  a 
dozen  different  doorways.  They  are  of  all 
sizes,  colors  and  ages,  from  the  tall  Nubian, 
black  as  ebony,  down  to  the  young  Athenian, 
with  flaxen  hair  and  eyes  of  lightest  blue.  And 
the  classrooms?  Let  us  enter  one.  Desks  and 
benches,  seemingly  a  century  old,  and  scarred 
with  the  names  of  generations  of  students; 
brick  floors,  and  two  small  windows,  which 
scarce  admit  enough  of  light. 

The  lecture  has  not  begun,  and  the  hum  of 
prohibited  conversation  is  loud  and  continuous. 
Two  Albanians  are  talking  together,  but  they 


Life  in  the  A  merican  College  219 

are  not,  as  you  might  imagine,  fellow-country- 
men, as  one  hails  from  the  capital  of  the  Em- 
pire State,  the  other  from  the  land  that  borders 
the  farther  side  of  the  Adriatic.  A  negro,  pos- 
sessed, one  knows  not  how,  of  the  name  of 
Purcell,  is  conversing  with  a  couple  of  Irish 
students,  with  names  less  Celtic  than  his  own. 
A  young  Greek,  of  unpronounceable  patro- 
nymic, is  receiving  congratulations  on  his 
recent  marriage.  Down  in  the  back  of  the 
room  the  Americans  are  talking  with  a  group 
of  German  Franciscans,  who,  from  the  fact 
that  they  live  with  the  Irish  community  of  their 
Order  at  St.  Isidore's,  speak  English  with  an 
accent  inimitable  in  its  combination  of  Celtic 
and  Teutonic.  Poor  Frati  !  Their  profession 
of  poverty  and  humility  is  given,  in  Rome, 
full  scope  for  exercise.  With  our  national 
instinct  of  assisting  the  downtrodden,  we 
alone  seem  to  take  kindly  to  them,  and  from 
their  bare  feet  and  shaven  heads  there  came 
to  us  in  return  full  many  a  lesson  of  morti- 
fication. 

But  hush!  the  professor  is  coming.     After 


220   History  of  the  American  College, Eome 

invoking  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  mounts  his  old- 
fashioned  chair,  or  pulpit,  and  a  minute  later 
we  are  deep  with  head  and  hand  in  the  meta- 
physics of  the  schools.    It  is  no  easy  task,  this 
study  of  philosophy  and  theology,  as  made  in 
Rome.     Practically  without  other  text-books 
than  the  Suinma  and  Contra  Gentiles  of  St. 
Thomas,   all   depends   upon  one's   ability  to 
assimilate  the  rapid  utterances  of  the  professor. 
To  remember  the  whole  lecture  is  impossible; 
to  take  it  down  in  writing  is  equally  out  of 
the  question.     So  we  have  to  learn  to  grasp 
at  once  the  force  of  an  argument — to  lie  in 
wait,  as  it  were,  for  the  middle  term  of  a  syllo- 
gism, and  then,  in  the  quiet  of  our  rooms,  fill 
out  these  notes  and  digest  the  mental  pabulum 
thus  afforded.    A  hard  task,  you  will  say,  and 
a  drudgery  and  vexation  for  those  of  inferior 
parts  ;  but  as  a  means  of  intellectual  discipline,  a 
training  for  future  controversy,  its  importance 
can  not  be  over-estimated.     The   professors 
are  enthusiastic  in  their  work.    St.  Thomas  is 
at  their  fingers'  end,  while  not  unfrequently  the 
course  of  a  triumphant  march  of  reasoning  is 


Life  in  the  American  College  221 

happily  and  unexpectedly  crowned  by  an  apt 
quotation  from  Dante. 

Still,  it  is  with  a  sigh  of  relief  we  hear  the 
bell  for  the  end  of  the  hour,  and  we  make  our 
escape  to  the  easier  study  of  mathematics. 
Here  a  surprise  waits  us.  The  first  lecture  is 
on  notation  and  addition  in  arithmetic,  and  it 
is  hard  to  repress  a  smile  as  we  see  our  class- 
mates of  the  East  lost  in  the  intricacies  of  the 
multiplication  tables,  which  we  of  America  and 
Europe  have  mastered  before  attaining  the  full 
use  of  reason.  However,  before  the  year  has 
closed  we  have  advanced  to  trigonometry,  and 
our  advantage  in  point  of  mathematical  train- 
ing seems  a  minus  quantity  when  we  are  called 
to  the  board  for  the  first  time  to  give  a  demon- 
stration in  Italian. 

Equally  rudimentary  were  the  beginnings  of 
physics.  I  have  learned  that  since  our  time 
the  munificence  of  Leo  XIII  has  supplied  the 
Propaganda  with  a  phj^sical  and  chemical  cab- 
inet ;  but  in  ye  ancient  days  of  physical  instru- 
ments there  were  none.  The  blackboard  and 
professor's  snuff-box  were  made  to  illustrate 


222    History  of  the  American  CoUege.Rome 

all  physical  apparatus  from  an  air  pump  to  a 
dj^namo.  Even  now  I  can  see  dear  old  Rubini 
bidding  us  pay  all  attention  as  he  portrayed 
the  progress  of  the  steam  engine  with  the  aid 
of  his  snuff-box.  The  digit  finger  represented 
the  smoke-stack,  a  gyratory  motion  of  the  hand 
at  the  four  corners  of  the  box  took  the  place 
of  wheels,  while  a  backward  and  forward  mo- 
tion of  his  arm  formed  a  graphic  illustration 
of  the  working  of  the  piston-rod.  And  now 
we  are  ready  for  our  journey.  With  a  short 
"tut,  tut,"  he  moves  the  snuff-box  forward 
across  his  desk  till  it  meets  an  obstacle  worse 
than  a  broken  rail  or  a  blown-out  cylinder — 
the  professor  needs  a  pinch  of  snuff,  and  the 
improvised  locomotive  comes  to  a  standstill. 
The  demands  of  his  generous-sized  nasal  organ 
are  satisfied,  and  once  more  our  snuff-box  en- 
gine is  brought  back  to  the  station  to  start 
afresh  upon  its  journey. 

But  there  are  other  studies  that  present 
more  difficulty.  Hebrew  is  no  favorite  among 
the  English-speaking  students,  and  despite  the 
able  teaching  of  a  converted  Jew,  an  Angus- 


Life  in  the  American  College  223 

tinian,  the  Irish  and  Americans  evince  strong 
anti-Semitic  tendencies.  Greek  is  less  dis- 
Hked.  It  is  taught  by  a  native  Grecian,  but 
the  famihar  oration  on  the  crown  is  scarcely 
recognized  by  the  ear  when  pronounced  after 
the  thin,  diluted  manner  of  modern  Greece. 

What,  you  ask,  of  the  respective  ability  of 
the  different  nations  as  their  students  come 
together  in  conflict  in  this,  of  all  intellectual 
arenas,  the  most  cosmopolitan?  Let  philos- 
ophy and  theology  form  the  basis  of  compari- 
son, and  I  answer  that  in  mere  memory  and 
the  gift  of  languages  the  Easterner  easily 
ranks  first.  Their  memories  are  phenomenal, 
and  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  many  of 
them  can  repeat  a  whole  hour's  lecture  almost 
verbatim.  But  with  a  few  brilliant  exceptions 
it  is  simply  parrot  work.  The  smallest  objec- 
tion knocks  to  the  ground  this  showy  super- 
structure of  learning. 

Not  so  the  work  of  the  Irish  and  Ameri- 
cans. Lacking  facility  and  fluency  in  speak- 
ing Latin,  for  grasp  and  depth  they  admittedly 
bear  the  palm  ;  and  as  the  time  for  the  annual 


224   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

competitions  draws  on,  it  is  a  noble  sight  to 
see  the  two  nations  so  closely  allied  in  sym- 
pathy, language,  tastes,  and  character,  battling 
for  intellectual  supremacy.  Now  victory  rests 
upon  the  arms  of  Ireland,  now  upon  those  of 
the  United  States,  but  often  by  the  smallest 
margin,  say  by  a  single  additional  man  num- 
bered among  the  "laudati  amplissimis  verbis." 
*'What  heads  these  Irish  have  for  theology," 
the  great  Cardinal  Franzelin  is  reported  to 
have  said  in  the  days  when  Irlandesi  attended 
the  Roman  College.  With  Celtic  blood  flow- 
ing in  the  veins  of  so  many  of  us  American 
students,  with  all  the  push  and  energy  and  the 
ambition  of  a  young  nation  carrying  us  along, 
I  think  we  can  apply  without  egoism  the  re- 
mark of  the  Jesuit  theologian  to  ourselves. 

But  after  all,  the  education  of  the  classroom 
is  not  the  chief  advantage  of  studying  in  the 
Eternal  City.  As  great  theological  learning 
can  be,  and  is  doubtless,  acquired  elsewhere; 
and  I  have  met  students  of  Innsbruck  and 
Louvain,  and  even  of  our  own  home  sem- 
inaries,  who   were   fully   the   equals   of   our 


Life  inthe  American  College  225 

Roman  doctors.  But  as  I  have  said  before, 
there  is  the  collateral  education  of  eye  and  ear 
and  heart,  the  education  of  what  Ruskin  so 
aptly  calls  "associated  thought,"  and  this  can 
be  nowhere  else  so  well  obtained.  We  are 
brought  in  contact  with  and  see  the  most  inti- 
mate workings  of  that  greatest  of  all  institu- 
tions, even  from  a  worldly  standpoint,  the 
Church.  We  become  acquainted,  sometimes 
personally,  with  the  men  who  occupy  places 
of  trust  and  power  in  her  various  congrega- 
tions; and  living  and  studying,  as  it  were, 
under  the  eye  of  the  Holy  Father,  there  grows 
up  within  us  an  unswerving,  personal,  enthusi- 
astic love  and  attachment  to  Christ's  Vicar. 

Then,  too,  basilicas  and  catacombs,  shrines 
and  magnificent  ceremonies  are  preaching  a 
sermon  so  eloquent,  ever  varied  and  ever 
fruitful.  There  is  scarce  a  day  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical year  unmarked  by  some  great  feast  of 
white-robed  martyr  or  saintly  confessor,  and 
sometimes  these  feasts  crowd  so  fast  upon  each 
other  that  we  are  obliged  to  attend  the  same 
day  the  first  vespers  of  one  saint  and  the  second 


226   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

vespers  of  another,  should  we  wish  to  satisfy 
our  devotion  to  both.  November  finds  us  at 
St.  Ceciha's  and  St.  Clement's  with  its  quaint 
cloister  and  subterranean  church,  or  braving 
the  malaria  of  early  morn  to  go  to  communion 
at  the  shrine  of  the  young  St.  Stanislaus. 
Christmas  brings  us  to  the  crib  of  our  Infant 
King,  at  St.  Mary  Major's,  and  within  the 
Octave,  to  Ara  Cceli,  where  boy  preachers  are 
telhng  the  praises  of  the  wonder-worldng 
Bambino;  to  St.  Stephen's  with  its  realistic 
pictures,  and  to  the  Lateran,  where  the  feasts 
of  St.  John  the  Evangelist  and  the  Holy  Inno- 
cents almost  coincide,  and  thus  allow  us  in 
spirit,  if  not  in  ritual,  to  honor  the  Beloved 
Disciple  while  we  join  in  the  beautiful  strains 
of  Capocci's  Laudate  Pueri  to  the  glory  of  the 
infant  martyrs. 

The  Epiphany — the  day  which  marks  the 
calling  of  the  Gentiles — is  fitly  chosen  as  the 
patronal  feast  of  the  Propaganda,  and  among 
its  observances  is  an  Academy  wherein  poems 
and  compositions  are  read  in  sometimes  as 
many  as  forty  languages.    A  rare  treat  it  must 


Life  in  the  American  College         227 

have  been  for  Cardinals  Mai  and  Mezzofanti, 
but  to  the  ordinary  hstener,  I  must  confess,  it 
is  a  most  tedious  performance.  May  with  its 
many  shrines  to  Our  Lady  is  a  month  of  grace  ; 
but  it  is  the  feasts  of  June  that  are  fraught 
with  greatest  spiritual  joy  and  devotion. 

Trinity  Sunday  with  its  ordinations,  the 
feast  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  when  it  is  so  fre- 
quently our  privilege  to  conduct  the  ceremonies 
at  the  church  of  the  Trinità  attached  to  the 
large  convent  of  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart — the  only  church  in  Rome  whose  choir 
is  composed  of  female  voices. 

St.  Aloysius'  day  is  a  feast  of  flowers  and 
tenderest  sentiment,  especially  for  his  youth- 
ful clients,  and  last  and  greatest  of  all,  as  the 
scholastic  year  hastens  to  its  close,  comes  the 
feast  peculiarly  of  Rome,  the  annual  solemnity 
of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  June  29th.  If  you 
would  see  the  Basilica  of  St.  Peter  aright,  and 
drink  in  the  full  significance  of  this  colossal 
edifice,  "of  temples  old  and  altars  new,"  the 
grandest  ever  raised  to  the  honor  of  the  living 
God,  visit  it  to-day.  Standing  under  that  peer- 


228   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

less  dome,  glance  around  at  the  crowd  that 
surrounds  you. 

Every  nation,  people,  tribe,  and  tongue  is 
represented.  Bands  of  mere  sightseers  pick 
their  way  through  throngs  of  the  devoted.  The 
full  red  uniforms  of  the  German  students  is 
contrasted  with  the  all-blue  of  the  Greeks  and 
the  modest  purple  of  the  Scotch.  The  green- 
cinctured  Poles  stand  side  by  side  with  the 
plain  black  cassocks  and  red  belts  of  the  Irish, 
both  united  in  their  common  heritage  of  suffer- 
ing undergone  for  the  Faith.  The  Collegio 
Americano  del  Sud,  in  blue  and  black,  is 
ranged  beside  the  Collegio  Americano  del 
Nord,  whose  white  collars,  red  cinctures  and 
blue-faced  coats  make  the  tout  ensemble  of 
their  trimmings  the  national  colors. 

And  if  you  turn  to  the  students  of  the  Prop- 
aganda College,  a  single  camerata  will  often 
contain  representatives  of  a  score  of  different 
nations.  The  same,  if  not  greater  variety,  is 
to  be  observed  in  the  Religious  Orders.  There 
are  barefooted  friars  in  habits  of  all  shapes  and 
colors — brown   Franciscans,   white   Trinitari- 


Life  in  the  American  College         229 

ans,  and  black  Passionists.  Among  the  shod 
there  are  white  Dominicans  and  black-robed 
Augustinians  and  Jesuit  scholastics,  whose 
downcast  eyes  and  modest  bearing  recall  the 
sanctity  of  Stanislaus  and  Aloysius  and  Berch- 
mans.  From  such  a  scene  one  irresistible,  in- 
controvertible fact  forces  itself  upon  the  mind, 
the  most  potent  and  obvious  proof  of  the  divine 
origin  of  the  Church. 

Take  one  more  wide,  comprehensive  glance 
around.  Let  the  eye  range  from  the  sanctuary 
filled  with  cardinals  and  archbishops  and  bish- 
ops and  unnumbered  monsignors  and  priests, 
back  to  the  surging  crowd  of  worshipers,  and 
then  kneeling  at  the  tomb  of  the  Prince  of  the 
Apostles,  aglow  with  the  glimmer  of  myriad 
lamps,  while  there  bursts  from  a  half  a  thou- 
sand voices  the  strains  of  the  sublime  apos- 
trophe O  felix  Roma,  your  heart  takes  up  the 
burden  of  this  hymn,  and  all  aflame  with  senti- 
ments of  just  pride  and  love,  you  realize  as 
never  before  that  the  Church  of  Rome  is  cath- 
olic and  universal. 

But  even  in  Rome  it  is  not  "all  work  and  no 


230   History  of  the  American  College.Bome 

play."  The  training  and  development  of  mind 
and  heart  go  on  apace,  but  there  are  hours  of 
most  enjoyable  recreation,  outbursts  of  fun 
that  well  besiDeak  our  joy  and  innocence  of 
soul.  The  gentle  Father  Faber  has  said  that 
"a  community  without  a  joyful  spirit  lacks  half 
its  vital  force"  ;  and  we  read  of  Lacordaire  and 
de  Ravignan  that  when  they  first  entered  the 
Seminary  of  St.  Sulpice  they  were  surprised, 
if  not  scandalized,  at  the  frequent  laughter  of 
the  young  seminarians.  "Wait,"  was  the  an- 
swer given  them,  "till  you  have  grasped  the 
spirit  of  the  house";  and  we  are  pleased  to 
learn  that  ere  long  the  two  austere  apostles  of 
modern  France  had  caught  the  contagion  of 
their  companions'  merriment.  Of  this  health- 
ful, joyous  spirit  there  was  no  lack  among  the 
Americans,  nor  were  occasions  wanting  for  its 
exercise. 

The  three  months  of  August,  September, 
and  October  are  passed  among  the  Alban  hills. 
During  the  year  there  are  walks  to  the  distant 
Janiculum  or  Tre  Fontane;  mornings  spent 
in  examining  treasures  of  art  or  passed  amid 


Life  in  the  American  College         231 

the  cool  shades  of  the  Pincian;  afternoons  in 
the  secluded  Villa  Mattei,  or  in  the  more  public 
Villa  Borghese.  In  the  last-named  villa  we 
often  indulged  in  a  game  of  baseball,  and  it 
was  one  such  that  led  a  writer  in  "Spalding's 
Guide"  to  tell  of  a  game  he  had  witnessed  in 
Rome,  in  which  all  the  players  were  Italian 
monks!  "They  played  like  professionals, 
knew  all  the  technical  terms,  but  when  I  ap- 
proached to  inquire  the  source  of  their  knowl- 
edge and  experience,  I  found  that,  outside  of 
baseball  parlance,  they  could  not  speak  a  single 
word  of  English."  Of  course  it  was  one  of  our 
little  tricks  on  travelers.  A  more  common 
form  of  the  joke  is  to  converse  in  Latin  or 
Italian,  till  some  group  of  sight-seeing  Ameri- 
can or  English  misses  have  loaded  us  with  all 
imaginable  epithets,  from  lazy  and  dirty  up, 
and  then  to  put  them  to  ignominious  flight  by 
using  our  native  tongue. 

And  so  the  cycle  of  our  years  runs  on.  Each 
June  sees  a  band  of  newly  ordained  priests  re- 
turning to  the  States,  their  places  to  be  taken 
by  fresh  arrivals  in  November.    We,  too,  are 


232   History  of  the  American  College^Rome 

gradually  mounting  the  ladder  leading  to  the 
holy  priesthood.  Philosophy  has  given  place 
to  dogma,  and  ethics  to  moral  theology,  Greek 
to  Church  history,  and  •  Hebrew  to  Sacred 
Scripture  and  liturgy.  The  small  tonsure  of 
our  initial  orders  has  widened  into  the  larger 
circle  of  the  deacon,  and  the  day  at  last  dawns 
when  in  the  mother  of  all  churches,  the  Lateran 
Basilica,  we  receive  the  power  of  offering  the 
Unspotted  Victim  of  propitiation,  of  loosing 
and  binding  the  sins  of  the  world. 

There  are  hurried  visits  to  favorite  centers 
of  devotion,  hearty  "Godspeed"  from  our  fel- 
low-students, who  charge  us  with  a  hundred 
messages  to  the  dear  ones  at  home,  and  then,  fit 
crowning  for  our  Roman  course,  we  go  to  beg 
a  blessing  at  the  feet  of  the  Holy  Father. 
Right  gladly  is  it  given,  and  with  it  words  of 
admonition  and  encouragement  to  live  forever 
in  our  memories,  and  as  the  aged  Pontiff  raises 
his  hand  in  parting  benediction,  we  feel  as  if 
we  were  receiving  from  the  lips  of  Christ  Him- 
self the  divine  commission  to  go  out  and  teach 
all  nations. 


Life  in  the  American  College         233 

In  conclusion,  let  me  quote  the  words  of  the 
saintly  Pius  IX,  as  he  unfolded  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  New  York,  in  1854,  his  project  for 
the  establishment  of  the  American  College. 
"By  this  means,  young  men  of  your  choice, 
sent  hither  for  the  purpose  of  devoting  them- 
selves to  the  Church,  will  be  reared  like  choice 
plants  in  a  conservatory.  They  will  be  here 
imbued  with  both  piety  and  learning,  drawing 
Christian  doctrine  from  its  purest  springs, 
being  instructed  in  rites  and  ceremonies  by  that 
Church  which  is  the  mother  and  teacher  of  all 
churches.  They  will  be  molded  on  the  best 
forms  of  discipline;  and  thus  trained  they  will 
go  back  to  their  native  land  to  fill  with  success 
the  functions  of  pastors,  preachers,  and  guides  ; 
to  edify  by  an  exemplary  life,  to  instruct  the 
ignorant,  recall  the  erring  to  the  path  of  truth 
and  righteousness,  and  with  the  aid  of  solid 
learning,  to  refute  the  fallacies  and  baffle  the 
designs  of  their  adversaries." 

Whether  or  not  these  sanguine  expectations 
have  been  entirely  realized  it  is  not  ours  to  say. 
We  point  with  pride  to  Archbishops  Corrigan 


234   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

and  Riordan,  to  Bishops  IMcCloskey,  Chatard, 
Richter,  Xorthrop,  Horstmann,  ]McDonnell, 
and  Burke  of  St.  Joseph,  as  of  our  alumni, 
and  as  we  call  the  roll  of  the  many  students 
of  the  American  College,  scattered  through- 
out the  land,  from  Florida  to  ^Massachusetts, 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  whose  names 
are  synonyms  for  zeal  and  learning,  we  are 
led  to  believe  that  our  record  is  not  an  inglori- 
ous one,  and  that  the  prophetic  vision  of  Pius 
has  seen,  at  least,  a  partial  fulfilment. — L.  S.^ 

*The  Messenger  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  January,  1896. 


A  SECOND  CHAPTER  ON  LIFE  IN  THE  AMERICAN 
COLLEGE,  ROME^ 

By  Rt.  Rev.  Henry  A.  Brann,  D.D. 
Tn  the  January  number  of  the  "Messenger" 
*'L.  S."  has  given  a  most  interesting  and 
well-written  article  on  "Life  in  the  American 
College,  Rome."  His  article  has  suggested 
and  stimulated  this  one;  for  it  must  be  useful 
as  well  as  entertaining  to  record  the  events  that 
took  place,  especially  in  the  beginning  of  an 
institution  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  Holy 
Father,  and  especially  of  American  Catholics. 
"L.  S."  is  generally  correct  in  his  statements; 
but  there  are  a  few  slips  which  he  will  kindly 
permit  me  to  point  out.  Thus,  in  speaking  of 
the  original  thirteen  students  of  the  College, 
whose  portraits  he  gives  in  a  group,  he  says  we 
shall  find  among  them  the  likeness  of  Bishop 
Northrop.  This  is  a  mistake.  The  likeness  is 
that  of  Claudian  Northrop,  the  brother  of 
Henry,  the  Bishop  of  Charleston,  who  was  not 

^Taken  from  the  Messenger,  February,  1896. 
235 


236   History  of  the  American  College^Rome 

a  student  in  the  College  until  some  years  after 
it  was  opened. 

Again,  he  tells  us  that  Dr.  Ubaldi  was  the 
bearer  of  the  Cardinal's  hat  to  Archbishop 
JMcCloskey.  The  bearer  of  the  hat  was  Mon- 
signor Roncetti;  Dr.  Ubaldi  and  Count  Mare- 
foschi  were  only  his  associates  and  compagnons 
de  voyage.  Again,  although  Dr.  INIcGlynn's 
likeness  is  in  the  group,  the  learned  and  elo- 
quent Doctor  was  never  considered  in  my  time 
a  student  of  the  College.  He  was  a  student 
of  the  Propaganda,  and  was  sent  over  to  the 
American  College  on  account  of  his  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  Itahan  tongue,  to  help  the 
Rector  and  post  him  on  the  ways  of  the 
Romans.  According  to  "L.  S.,"  the  Doctor 
was  already  in  Holy  Orders  when  he  was  thus 
commissioned  to  assist  the  greenhorns  with  his 
superior  knowledge  and  experience. 

"L.  S."  says  nothing  about  the  batch  of 
students  who,  although  not  at  the  opening  of 
the  College,  entered  it  during  the  same  year, 
some  of  them  only  a  few  months  after  Decem- 
ber 8,  1859.    I  cannot  remember  all  of  those 


A  Second  Chapter  on  Life  in  the  College   237 

who  may  be  numbered  in  this  second  batch. 
We  who  came  from  the  neighborhood  of  New 
York  used  to  call  the  first  batch  the  "original 
Jacobs,"  in  reminiscence  of  a  well-known 
Chatham  Street  Jew  and  jeweler,  who  thus 
advertised  to  distinguish  himself  from  a  rival 
of  the  same  name.  Some  of  the  "original 
Jacobs,"  notably  my  learned  friend  Rev.  Dr. 
Parsons,  the  historian,  and  my  equally  learned 
friend  Monsignor  Seton,  the  archseologist  and 
genealogist,  used  to  edify  us  newcomers  with 
repeated  tales  of  the  glories  of  the  opening  day 
and  of  the  celebrities  present  on  the  occasion, 
notably  of  General  Guyon,  the  French  Major- 
General,  and  good,  noble,  and  courageous 
Pius  IX. 

We  used  to  listen  to  them  with  open  mouths, 
but  we  never  swallowed  all  they  said.  In  fact, 
the  old  students  of  the  College  who  read  this 
will  remember  that  we  used  to  call  many  of 
their  stories  "Neapolitans,"  because  one  of 
them  told  us  an  incredible  story  about  some- 
thing that  had  happened  in  Naples,  a  story 
which  even  the  learned  narrator  himself  did  not 


238    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

believe.  "A  Neapolitan"  in  American  College 
English  in  the  year  1860  meant  "a  yarn." 

How  many  students  of  that  year  are  dead? 
There  was  Ambrose  O'Neil,  of  Albany  diocese, 
a  long,  lank  alumnus,  with  a  fine  baritone  voice. 
A  good  singer  and  a  good  preacher  was  he. 
Then  there  was  our  vice-prefect  or  bidello, 
Ward,  of  Pittsburg.  Both  are  dead,  and  I 
believe  in  heaven.  Then  there  was  Fitzpatrick, 
of  Brooklyn,  afterward  a  rector  and  the  editor 
of  a  Catholic  newspaper;  and  another  Brook- 
lyn man.  Rev.  Dr.  Gardner,  the  cleverest 
alumnus  of  his  time,  a  poet,  a  philosopher,  and 
a  saint,  with  a  special  devotion  to  the  Sacred 
Heart.  He,  too,  edited  a  Catholic  newspaper, 
the  "Brooklyn  Catholic."  Both  died  of  con- 
sumption many  years  ago.  William  Hart,  of 
New  Haven,  another,  is  also  dead.  So  is  Rev. 
Wilham  Smith,  of  Fort  Edward,  N.  Y. 

Of  that  second  batch,  the  Rev.  James  Nilan, 
my  associate  wood-sawyer — Dr.  McCloskey 
sent  the  pair  of  us  to  saw  wood,  as  a  cure  for 
college  dyspepsia — Rev.  Patrick  Hennessy, 
Rev.  Patrick  Cody,  Rev.  Patrick  Smith,  Rev. 


A  Second  Chapter  on  Life  in  the  College   239 

Christopher  Hughes,  are  alive  and  well,  and 
I  believe  some  of  them  have  been  kicking. 
These,  with  myself,  came  next  to  the  orig- 
inal thirteen.  Others  there  were,  but  in  the 
lower  classes,  and  consequently  not  so  con- 
spicuous. 

There  was  one  who  came  a  little  after  us, 
Rev.  Daniel  O'Regan,  of  Cincinnati.  Dan 
and  Father  Frank  Dutton,  who  is  still  alive, 
were  sent  to  France  in  their  boyhood  by  Arch- 
bishop Purcell.  They  studied  at  first  in 
Nantes,  and  afterward  in  St.  Sulpice,  Paris, 
where  Dan  and  myself  were  classmates.  Sud- 
denly and  unexpectedly  the  noble-spirited  fel- 
low, impelled  by  a  desire  to  fight  for  the  Pope, 
left  the  seminary  and  joined  the  Papal  Zou- 
aves, among  whom  he  served  for  a  year.  Then, 
at  the  entreaty  of  his  archbishop,  he  gave  up 
his  military  career,  entered  the  American  Col- 
lege, and  ranks  as  its  second  priest  and  second 
Doctor  in  the  order  of  time.  He  died  a  short 
time  after  he  returned  to  the  United  States. 
He  was  brave  and  manly,  and  hardly  inferior 
to  Gardner  in  talent.    Rapti  suntj  ne  malitia 


240   History  of  the  American  College.Bome 

mutaret  intellectum.  They  whom  God  loves 
die  young. 

Good  Father  Meriwether,  so  he  is  ahve! 
He  was  the  vice-prefect  of  the  first  camerata 
in  1860,  Father  Hennessy  being  the  prefect. 
Do  they  remember  the  night  of  the  "Knobs," 
and  also  the  great  April  fool  hoax  ?  Of  com^se 
they  do;  but,  reader,  you  know  nothing  about 
them,  so  I'll  tell  you. 

I  think  it  was  the  second  or  third  night  after 
I  got  to  the  College  villa  at  Gensano,  near 
Lake  Nemi,  in  October,  1860,  the  students 
being  then  in  vacation,  that  we  of  the  first 
camerata,  gathered  around  the  community 
table,  began  to  tell  anecdotes.  Each  tried  to 
outdo  the  other.  At  last  some  one  told  a  story 
— a  story  that  had  no  point  to  it — I  think  it 
was  Nilan,  but  if  it  was  not  I  hope  he'll  forgive 
me  for  saying  so.  His  remarks  were  and  are 
usually  pointed.  Dead  silence  followed.  But 
dry  and  quaint  old  INIeriwether  in  the  comer 
interrupted  the  silence  by  remarking:  "That 
story  has  no  knob  to  it."  So  from  that  out, 
a  silly  story  or  a  bad  syllogism  in  American 


A  Second  Chapter  on  Life  in  the  College    241 

College  English  became  "something  without 
a  knob  to  it."  "The  sermon  had  no  knob  to 
it,"  "The  argument  has  no  knob  to  it," 
"Where's  the  knob?"  etc.,  such  were  well- 
known  and  well-understood  phrases  in  the  Col- 
lege for  many  years.  Dear  old  bidello  Meri- 
wether, I  have  not  seen  you  in  thirty-three 
years,  but  I  hope  to  make  you  smile  when  you 
read  this,  no  matter  where  you  are,  and  even 
though  you  did  once  complain  of  a  certain  stu- 
dent for  sharing  his  bottle  of  wine  with  another. 

Then  there  was  the  celebrated  April-fool 
hoax  in  the  year  1861 — was  it — or  was  it  1862? 

Rumors  had  been  rife  for  some  time  that  the 
Garibaldini  were  prowling  through  the  Papal 
States  and  might  invade  Rome.  I  was  the 
librarian  and  very  much  interested  in  the  vol- 
umes which  the  Jesuit  Fathers  had  sent  over 
to  us  from  the  Roman  College,  either  for  safe 
keeping  or  as  a  gift,  I  can  not  say  which.  That 
library  was  the  object  of  my  especial  care.  I 
remember  with  what  zeal  I  made  out  the  cata- 
logue of  its  books,  assisted  sometimes  by  a 
very  quiet,  unpretentious,  gentle,  hard-work- 


242    History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

iiig  student  named  JMichael  A.  Corrigan.  He 
was  the  Rector's  favorite,  if  he  had  any.  The 
library  was  at  the  end  of  the  corridor  on  the 
top  storj^  occupied  by  the  first  camerata.  Near 
the  Hbrary  lived  Fitzpatrick,  of  Brooklyn,  a 
wag  fond  of  a  practical  joke;  a  few  doors 
lower  down  was  the  room  of  the  librarian.  At 
the  other  end  dwelt  the  tall,  sturdy,  stern  pre- 
fect, Hennessy,  now  pastor  in  Jersey  City,  and 
near  him  dwelt  the  brave  and  pugnacious 
Cody,  now  pastor  in  Newark,  N.  J.  Both 
were  the  owners  of  formidable  sticks,  and  knew 
how  to  use  them,  if  necessary. 

Archbishop  Hughes  was  at  that  time  in  the 
house  very  sick;  in  fact,  the  Rector,  Dr.  ]Mc- 
Closkey,  feared  the  prelate  would  then  die. 

It  was  the  eve  of  April  1st  and  almost  mid- 
night when  the  librarian  was  rudely  awaked 
from  his  slumbers  by  the  voice  of  Fitzpatrick 
saying,  "G^et  up,  get  up  quick,  there  are  rob- 
bers in  the  library."  I  jumped  up,  donned  my 
cassock,  put  on  my  shoes,  slip-shod,  seized  a 
stick  which  I  had  cut  the  preceding  October 
in  the  woods  near  Lake  Albano,  and  told  Fitz- 


A  Second  Chapter  on  Life  in  the  College   243 

Patrick  to  go  and  wake  Cody  and  Nilan. 
Nilan  was  an  athlete.  They  would  have  made 
good  fighters  on  a  pinch.  Then  I  went  to 
awaken  Hennessy,  and  he  sent  me  to  awaken 
the  Rector.  I  awoke  the  Rector,  who  thought 
at  first  that  it  was  some  sad  news  about  the 
Archbishop  that  was  being  brought  to  him; 
and  the  Rector  sent  me  to  awake  the  servant 
David-David,  one  of  whose  chief  occupations 
in  the  house  was  to  apply  leeches  to  the  students 
when  the  barbarian  doctor  ordered  them  to  be 
bled.  I  awoke  David;  and  now  every  fighter 
in  the  first  camerata  was  up  and  arrayed  for 
battle. 

I  came  upstairs  from  the  Rector's  room  and 
found  Cody,  the  Achilles  of  the  house,  ready 
to  enter  the  library  at  once  and  slaughter  the 
robbers,  whether  they  were  Garibaldini  or 
common  burglars.  He  demanded  the  keys 
from  me.  But  I  dissuaded  from  haste  lest  the 
burglars  should  stab  him  as  he  entered  the 
door.  In  a  solid  phalanx  we  then  marched. 
Hennessy,  however,  had  not  yet  appeared.  He 
was  making  extraordinary  preparations   for 


244    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

the  conflict  ;  when  in  the  midst  of  the  hubbub, 
Fitzpatrick  began  to  laugh,  cried  out,  "April 
fool,"  ran  to  his  room,  and  locked  himself  in. 
The  others  saw  the  joke  at  once,  and  went 
hastily  to  bed.  But  it  was  no  joke  for  me,  for 
I  had  to  face  both  the  prefect  and  the  Rector 
and  explain  matters  to  them.  I  did  not  want 
to  tell  them  that  Fitzpatrick  was  to  blame,  and 
I  am  very  sorry  to  say  that  they  both  thought 
me  quite  capable  of  being  the  culprit  myself. 
However,  I  faced  the  music,  although  I  feared 
Hennessy  armed  with  a  club  more  than  I  did 
the  Rector  armed  with  superior  authority. 

He  was  gentle  and  genial  and  a  thorough 
American.  The  joke  pleased  him  so  much 
that  he  gave  us  a  whole  recreation  day  on  the 
strength  of  it. 

And  so,  dear  juniors  of  the  American  Col- 
lege, you  have  the  story  of  the  April-fool  hoax. 
But  I  bore  you  ;  so  here's  an  end  to  it.  O'Neil, 
O'Regan,  Ward,  Gardner,  Fitzpatrick,  Hart, 
Sheridan,  Charlton,  William  Smith,  Burns, 
the  chess-player  of  Philadelphia,  Charles 
O'Connor  of  the  same  city,  and  who  else?    All 


A  Second  Chapter  on  Life  in  the  College   245 

dead  and  gone.  Requiescant  in  pace!  They 
were  not  among  the  original  thirteen,  but  they 
were  among  the  original  half-hundred  who 
loved  the  College  and  carried  off  the  prizes  in 
1860,  1861,  and  1862.  This  record  has  not 
been  surpassed  since. 

The  last  slip  of  "L.  S."  is  in  his  last  sen- 
tence. He  claims  Bishops  McCloskey  and 
Chatard  as  "of  our  alumni."  Neither  of  these 
two  bishops  ever  studied  in  the  American  Col- 
lege. Bishop  McCloskey  is  an  alumnus  of 
Mount  St.  Mary's  and  Bishop  Chatard  of  the 
Propaganda;  and  consequently  are  not  alumni 
of  the  American  College  in  any  proper  sense. 
Both  of  them  were  presidents,  however,  and 
were  beloved  by  all  the  students  who  lived 
under  their  manly  but  benign  administration. 


CHAPTER   Vili 

ADMINISTRATION  OF  BISHOP  KENNEDY^ 

A  TALENT  for  administration,  financial  ca- 
pacity, and  a  close  attention  to  details 
are  as  necessary  in  a  bishop  or  the  rector  of  a 
college  as  learning,  a  knowledge  of  human 
nature  and  tact.  Napoleon  was  great  because 
he  knew  and  paid  attention  to  the  practical  de- 
tails, as  well  as  to  the  great  principles  of  mili- 
tary strategy.  Men  are  not  governed  perfectly 
by  rules  alone;  nor  do  soldiers  achieve  victory 
by  mere  courage.  It  is  the  application  of  the 
rules;  their  modification  according  to  circum- 
stances ;  it  is  the  repression  of  courage  when  it 
prompts  to  rashness  which  achieves  final  and 
perfect  success  in  government  and  in  war.  A 
priest  might  have  the  theological  science  of 
Thomas  Aquinas  and  the  general  learning  of 
Lambruschini,  and  yet  lack  the  necessarj^  qual- 
ities for  a  good  ruler  in  the  Church. 

'This  chapter  was  written  by  the  author  in  Rome,  December, 
1909. 

246 


Administration  of  Bishop  Kennedy     247 

Instinctively  the  American  bishops,  whose 
sohd,  practical  sense  developed  in  the  busy  en- 
vironment of  their  civil  life,  knew  always  how 
to  choose  the  right  men  to  govern  the  great 
College  founded  for  the  special  benefit  of  the 
Church  in  the  United  States  in  the  capital  of 
Christendom,  five  thousand  miles  away  from 
America.  IVIcCloskey,  Chatard,  Hostlot,  and 
the  two  O' Councils  were  admirable  selec- 
tions for  the  arduous  task  of  managing  the 
affairs  of  the  College  in  its  infancy  and  in 
its  growth.  Not  only  were  they  scholars, 
but  good  administrators.  The  present  rector 
has  realized  the  best  traditions  of  his  prede- 
cessors in  character  and  in  office.  In  fact, 
his  administration  has  been  brilliantly  suc- 
cessful. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Kennedy,  D.D.,  was  ap- 
pointed Rector  of  the  College  on  June  15, 
1901,  and  took  charge  on  August  1st  of  the 
same  year.  Sent  from  the  archdiocese  of  Phil- 
adelphia, he  became  an  alumnus  of  the  College, 
which  he  left  with  the  title  of  Doctor  of  Divin- 
ity, June  13, 1888.    He  found  when  he  reached 


248   History  of  the  American  College.Eome 

Rome  seventy-four  students  in  the  College. 
Under  his  administration  it  has  increased  an- 
nually with  rapid  strides.  In  the  first  year  of 
his  administration  the  number  went  up  to 
seventy-seven;  in  1902  it  was  eighty-five; 
ninety-seven  in  1904  ;  one  hundred  in  1905  ;  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  in  1906;  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  in  1907;  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  in  1908;  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  in 
the  first  part  of  1909  ;  and  yesterday,  Decem- 
ber 9,  1909,  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  stu- 
dents stood  in  the  consistorial  hall  of  the  Vati- 
can and  were  addressed  and  blessed  by  Pius  X. 
With  them  were  the  Rector  and  the  oldest 
priest  of  the  College,  just  arrived  from 
America,  whose  life  Providence  lengthened  out 
to  behold  the  joyous  day. 

The  College  was  clear  of  debt  when  Dr. 
Kennedy  became  Rector,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  a  magnificent  new  villa,  *'The  Villa  Sta 
Caterina,"  at  Castel  Gandolfo,  had  been  pur- 
chased by  his  illustrious  predecessor,  the  pres- 
ent Archbishop  of  Boston;  and  a  fund  of 
twenty  thousand  francs  in  the  form  of  a  mort- 


A  dininistration  of  Bishop  Kennedy     249 

gage  on  the  old  villa  at  Castel  Gandolfo  was 
to  the  credit  of  the  College. 

But  the  increasing  number  of  the  students 
required  larger  accommodation  and  new  pur- 
chases of  property.  Providentially,  in  this 
emergency  the  Palazzo  Tomba,  adjoining  the 
old  College,  was  offered  at  a  sheriff's  sale. 
Dr.  Kennedy,  with  his  quick  business  eye,  saw 
the  opportunity  and  bought  it  for  the  low  fig- 
ure of  240,000  francs;  but  he  had  to  spend 
20,000  more  for  legal  expenses,  in  the  transfer 
of  title.  Besides,  repairs  on  the  new  building 
cost  over  45,500  lire.  Not  wishing  to  go  into 
debt  or  to  touch  any  of  the  ordinary  resources 
of  the  institution,  on  August  6,  1903,  he  went 
home  to  America,  the  land  of  generous  hearts 
and  open  purses,  to  collect  for  the  sacred  house 
of  his  seminary  life.  He  met  in  the  United 
States  wonderful  success.  The  old  alumni 
on  the  mission  gave  him  $26,000,  a  sum 
almost  equal  to  half  the  cost  of  the  new 
purchase.  From  outside  sources  he  collected 
an  additional  amount  of  $46,000,  making  alto- 
gether $72,000.     A  list  of  all  the  generous 


250   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

donors  to  the  collection  will  be  found  in  the 
Appendix. 

But  when  he  came  back  from  the  United 
States  with  a  fund  sufficient  to  prevent  the 
College  from  getting  into  debt,  a  new  problem 
presented  itself.  The  number  of  the  students 
was  so  rapidly  increasing  that  the  beautiful 
Villa  Caterina  at  Castel  Gandolfo  was  too  small 
to  hold  them  in  vacation  time.  He  had  now 
(1904)  ninety-seven  to  provide  for,  and  did 
not  know  what  to  do,  when  Divine  Providence, 
which  has  always  specially  watched  over  the 
destiny  of  the  sacred  institution,  came  to  his 
rescue.  One  of  its  most  generous  patrons,  by 
giving  a  very  large  contribution,  enabled  him 
(1907)  to  build  a  commodious  new  building 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  students,  at  a 
cost  of  160,000  lire,'  this  also  including  the  cost 
of  a  beautiful  new  chapel.  Further  improve- 
ments on  the  villa  cost  70,500  lire.  The  whole 
amount  spent  on  the  country  house  and  on  the 
city  purchase  and  improvements  was  575,000 

'The  Italian  coin  called  a  lire  has  the  same  value  as  the  French 
franc,  about  20  cents  of  American  money. 


Administration  of  Bishop  Kennedy     251 

lire.  Not  one  cent  of  this  amount  was  taken 
from  the  ordinary  income  of  the  College.  It 
was  all  due  to  the  generosity  of  the  benefactors 
of  the  College. 

But  it  is  not  merely  as  an  administrator  that 
Bishop  Kennedy  has  shown  his  capacity  to 
govern.  He  has  stimulated  the  zeal  of  the  stu- 
dents for  learning,  and  provided  them  with 
every  means  of  advancement  in  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal sciences.  He  has  urged  on  them  the  neces- 
sity of  knowing  the  Italian  language  in 
addition  to  their  theology,  so  that  they  may  be 
able  to  take  care  of  the  Italian  emigrants  who 
are  swarming  to  the  tow^ns  and  country  places 
of  America  and  for  whom  Italian  priests  are 
often  lacking.  He  knows,  also,  that  the 
Italians  themselves  often  get  along  better  with 
an  American  priest  who  knows  their  language 
and  shows  sympathy  for  them,  than  with  one 
of  their  own  race.  Consequently  the  study  of 
Italian  is  obligatory  in  the  College.  He  has 
also  developed  the  study  of  plain  chant  among 
his  students,  so  that  the  college  choir  now  ranks 
with  the  best  in  the  city.    The  students  are  well 


252   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

fed,  well  housed,  well  educated;  and  they  get 
opportunities  of  exercise  and  play,  so  that  their 
health  is  good.  Here  is  where  the  paternal 
affection  of  the  Rector  shows  itself  specially. 
If  a  student  is  sick  the  Rector  worries  and  frets 
and  is  constant  in  his  care  until  the  student  is 
well.  The  Rector  has  the  heart  of  a  father  for 
his  boys.  The  young  men  are  physically  strong 
and  fine  looking.  As  they  march  into  the  re- 
fectory, the  thought  that  comes  to  the  mind  on 
seeing  these  straight,  manly-looking  men  is  that 
they  are  a  company  of  young  soldiers  who  will 
not  flinch  in  the  future  battles  they  will  have 
to  fight  against  error  and  vice  in  the  broad  land 
beyond  the  sea.  The  spirit  of  piety  in  the 
house  breathes  over  them.  They  are  up  with 
the  lark,  punctual  to  all  the  religious  exercises; 
and  the  Vice-Rector,  Father  O'Hern  of  Chi- 
cago, and  the  spiritual  father,  Father  INIahony 
of  Albany,  are  zealous  aids  to  their  chief.  The 
latter  is  the  worthy  successor  of  the  late  much- 
regretted  spiritual  father  who  gave  twenty-two 
years  of  his  life  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
students  of  the  College,  and  who  is  now  the 


A dministration  of  Bishop  Kennedy     253 

esteemed  and  learned  Bishop  of  Cleveland, 
Right  Rev.  John  P.  Farrelly,  D.D. 

Bishop  Kennedy  is  a  tall,  robust  man  in  the 
prime  of  life.  He  was  born  at  Conshohocken, 
near  Philadelphia,  March  23, 1858;  entered  the 
Seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  Phila- 
delphia, September,  1879;  and  came  to  the 
American  College  September  1, 1882.  He  was 
ordained  priest  in  Rome  July  24,  1887,  and 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Adrianopolis,  Decem- 
ber 29,  1907.  The  following  address  made  by 
him  at  the  golden  jubilee  celebration  in  the 
College,  June  12,  1909,  will  give  the  reader 
a  good  specimen  of  his  practical  style  and 
character  : 


THE     PRESENT     CONDITION     OF 
THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGE 

Dear  Alumni:  Alma  Mater  bids  you  a 
hearty  welcome  back  to  the  old  home.  You 
find  it  still  the  old  home,  but  much  changed, 
and  changed,  I  am  sure  you  will  agree,  for  the 
better.    You  see  these  changes  and  will  be  glad 


25-i   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

to  hear  me  say  that  from  every  point  of  view 
the  College  enjoys  the  fullest  prosperity.  You 
will  kindly  permit  me  a  few  words  on  this  sub- 
ject— the  prosperous  standing  of  the  College. 

I  take  as  my  text  the  significant  and  almost 
prophetic  words  of  that  great  benefactor  of  the 
College,  Right  Rev.  Mgr.  Doane,  when  ap- 
pealing to  the  American  people  for  funds  to 
prevent  its  doors  being  closed.  It  was  in  1867, 
just  eight  years  after  its  foundation,  that  its 
very  existence  was  threatened.  The  Most  Rev. 
Archbishop  of  Baltimore  and  the  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  of  Philadelphia  sent  forth  a  strong 
appeal  and  commissioned  Mgr.  Doane  to  col- 
lect funds. 

After  setting  forth  eloquently  the  numerous 
advantages,  both  spiritual  and  intellectual, 
which  the  City  of  Rome  offers  to  ecclesiastical 
students,  he  says: 

"We  are  proud  of  our  country,  of  its  lakes, 
and  its  rivers,  and  its  mountains,  surpassed 
nowhere  in  the  world.  Let  us  not  be  content 
with  these  natural  excellences  which  are  not 
of  our  making,  but  come  to  us  from  the  hand 


Rt.   Rev.   Thomas  F.   Kennedy,   D.D. 
Titular  Bishop  of  Adricmopolis,  Prese?it  Rector  of  the  College 


Administration  of  Bishop  Kennedy     255 

of  God.  Let  us  try  to  excel  in  those  things 
which  are  under  our  control — in  virtue,  in 
learning,  and  in  all  that  makes  man  great  and 
good  ;  and  in  this  particular  instance  let  us  try 
to  excel  the  other  nations  in  our  College  in 
Rome.  Let  it  be  a  model  in  discipline,  in 
spirit,  and  in  intellectual  culture.  Let  us  try 
to  make  it  the  leading  College  in  this  respect, 
and  also  in  the  number  of  students.  In  this 
point  let  it  be  second  only  to  the  Propaganda. 
Let  us  not  be  satisfied  until  we  have  it  fully 
estabhshed,  and  at  least  a  hundred  students 
within  its  walls.  That  this  may  be  accom- 
plished, we  call  the  attention  of  our  readers  to 
the  appeal,  and  trust  that  every  one  who  is  able 
will  take  part  in  this  great  undertaking  to  the 
utmost  of  his  abilit3\" 

The  College  at  the  end  of  the  first  half  cen- 
tury of  its  existence  not  only  realizes  the  hopes 
of  him  who  saved  it,  but  far  surpasses  them  in 
every  point  enumerated. 

The  discipline  has  always  been  good  within 
my  recollection,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that 
the  high   standing   is   still  maintained,   even 


256   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

though  the  number  of  students  has  greatly 
increased. 

The  spirit  of  study  is  excellent.  The  stu- 
dents take  great  pride  in  standing  high  in 
their  classes  at  Propaganda.  You  receive 
the  reports  of  their  marks  and  the  cata- 
logues of  the  concursus  and  can  judge  for 
yourselves  of  their  successes.  The  Holy 
Father  has  repeatedly  spoken  with  unstinted 
praise  of  their  achievements  in  this  respect. 
On  every  side,  from  professors  and  superiors, 
they  receive  the  highest  encomiums.  In  no 
boastful  spirit  do  I  speak.  It  is  an  infallible 
sign  of  healthy  tone  when  the  students  compete 
manfully  with  their  fellows  and  strive  by  every 
honorable  means  to  carry  off  the  prizes. 

Another  sign  of  this  good  spirit  was  mani- 
fested when  the  Motu  Proprio  on  Church 
music  appeared.  I  called  the  attention  of  the 
students  to  the  necessity  of  immediately  put- 
ting the  Holy  Father's  wishes  into  effect.  You 
have  had  several  specimens  of  the  results  we 
have  attained.  Certainly  here  in  Rome  we 
have  an  enviable  reputation.     I  quote  here  a 


Administration  of  Bishop  Kennedy     257 

letter  of  Maestro  Perosi.  On  November  16th, 
when  the  Holy  Father  celebrated  his  jubilee 
in  St.  Peter's,  forty  of  our  students  sang. 
Maestro  Perosi  writes  to  thank  me. 

Rev.mo  Monsignore:  E  colla  massima  ri- 
conoscenza che  la  ringrazio  delle  valide  cooper- 
azioni che  i  suoi  buoni  seminaristi  portano  nelle 
esecuzioni  delle  Cappelle  Pontificie.  Se  le 
ultime  funzioni  ebbero  un  successo  artistico  di 
così  alta  importanza,  merito  principale  ne  viene 
alla  massa  di  seminaristi  che  collo  slancio  della 
loro  età  cantarono  quella  musica  che  il  Santo 
Padre  predilige.  Mi  creda  con  grato  animo, 
Dev.mo  suo  in  Xto., 

Maestro  Lorenzo  Perosi. 

I  have  no  complaint  to  make  of  the  students. 
On  the  contrary,  I  am  proud  of  them  and 
declare  them  an  honor  to  the  College.  From 
the  points  of  view  enumerated  by  Mgr.  Doane, 
discipline,  spirit  of  piety,  and  intellectual 
culture,  they  can  not  be  surpassed  in  the 
city. 

In  point  of  view  of  numbers  we  are  the 


258    History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

largest  College  in  the  city.  We  exceed  the 
Propaganda  by  thirty-six  this  year.  The  in- 
crease has  been  remarkably  rapid.  Even  dur- 
ing my  own  administration  the  highest  number 
hitherto  reached  has  been  doubled.  This  year 
has  been  the  banner  year  for  numbers.  The 
graduating  class  of  1909,  the  jubilee  class, 
numbers  twenty-seven,  the  largest  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  College. 

As  you  will  readily  understand,  this  sudden 
increase  of  students  presented  some  difficult 
problems,  which,  thanks  to  God,  have  been 
happily  solved,  for  the  present  at  least,  and 
this  brings  me  to  the  other  point  alluded  to  by 
JNIgr.  Doane.  He  wished  to  see  the  College 
fully  established.  It  is  now  fully  established, 
and  unless  some  financial  cataclysm  surprise 
us  there  is  no  danger  that  its  doors  will  ever 
be  closed. 

The  first  problem  was  to  house  the  rapidly 
growing  number  of  students  here  in  the  city. 
The  accommodations  of  the  old  College  were 
very  limited  indeed.  Fortunately,  I  was  able 
to  get  the  adjoining  property,  known  as  the 


Administration  of  Bishop  Kennedy     259 

Palazzo  Tomba.  It  may  seem  strange  to  you, 
but  it  required  more  skill  to  buy  it  at  that  re- 
markably low  figure,  240,000  lire,  than  it  did 
to  get  the  money  to  pay  for  it.  I  wish  to  thank 
the  Alumni  publicly,  in  the  name  of  Alma 
Mater,  for  their  generous  contributions.  It 
was  a  striking  proof  of  their  attachment  and 
loyalty  to  their  College  and  made  a  deep  im- 
pression on  His  Holiness  Leo  XIII,  Pius  X, 
and  all  in  Rome  who  heard  of  it. 

Mere  words  expressive  of  affection  mean 
little.  But  money  is  eloquent,  especially  when 
the  resources  of  those  who  contribute  it  are 
slender.  Personally  I  have  always  valued 
more  highly  the  noble  spirit  that  prompted  the 
contributions  than  the  amount  of  the  contri- 
butions themselves.  For  the  effect  on  me  was 
to  encourage  and  nerve  me  on  my  collecting 
tour. 

The  amount  contributed  by  the  Alumni  was 
$26,000  or  134,000  lire. 

The  amount  required  to  get  the  title  to  the 
property  was  260,000  lire.  But  much  repair- 
ing was  needed.    The  amount  spent  to  put  it 


260   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

in  the  condition  you  see  to-day  was  37,500  lire. 
The  amount  spent  on  the  old  building  was 
8,000  lire.  The  refectory  was  in  the  beautiful 
condition  in  which  you  find  it  when  I  came. 
Archbishop  O'Connell  had  it  decorated.  Mgr. 
IMillerick  is  responsible  for  the  beautiful  floor, 
Bishop  ]\Iorris  donated  the  baths  and  Bishop 
Horstmann  gave  the  money  ($250)  for  that 
pretty  shrine  of  Our  Lady  in  the  garden.  Not 
one  cent  was  taken  from  the  ordinary  income 
of  the  College  to  defray  the  expenses  of  these 
improvements. 

On  my  collecting  tour  I  got  $46,000.  It  was 
hard  work,  but  love  lightened  the  burden.  I 
must  say  that  while  in  a  few  instances  the 
amounts  did  not  reach  my  expectations,  I  was 
never  refused  a  donation,  and  in  the  great  ma- 
jority of  cases  I  received  what  I  asked  for. 
In  my  youthful  enthusiasm  and  inexperience 
in  that  line  of  priest's  work  in  the  United 
States  I  felt  disappointed  when  I  asked  for 
$1,000  and  received  only  $500.  But  I  learned 
to  appreciate  the  situation  later.  I  want  to 
thank  all  those  great  good  people  of  the  laity 


Administration  of  Bishop  Kennedy    261 

who  helped  me  in  those  trying  days.  Here  I 
append  the  list  of  donors  and  the  amounts  in 
perpetuam  rei  memoriam.  It  will  be  a  splen- 
did monument  to  the  generosity  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  as  well  as  to  their  love  for  and 
interest  in  this  dear  old  College.  I  am  firmly 
convinced  that  their  response  would  still 
be  prompt  and  generous  did  circumstances 
make  it  necessary  ever  to  appeal  to  them 
again. 

When  you  go  on  the  excursion  next  Tues- 
day to  the  Villa  S.  Caterina  you  will  be  as  de- 
lighted as  you  will  be  surprised.  For  years 
after  its  foundation  the  College  shifted  from 
place  to  place  for  its  villeggiatura  until  finally 
Mgr.  Hostlot  in  1882  bought  the  little  villa  at 
Castel  Gandolfo. 

It  was  not  a  palazzo  as  we  understand  that 
word  now.  But  it  seemed  such  to  us.  It  was 
home,  and  we  were  happy  and  loved  it  as  such. 
Be  it  ever  so  lowly,  there  is  no  place  like  home 
when  the  children  have  the  right  disposition 
and  are  willing  to  make  the  best  of  circum- 
stances.   It  remained  for  His  Grace  the  JMost 


262    History  of  the  American  College.Bome 

Rev.  William  H.  O'Connell  to  give  to  the 
College  the  truly  princely  Villa  S.  Caterina,  a 
villa  princely  in  fact  as  in  name  and  one  worthy 
of  the  College  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  To 
his  credit  be  it  said  that  the  property  was  ac- 
quired for  a  nominal  sum,  130,000  lire.  He 
was  able  to  dispose  of  the  old  place  to  ad- 
vantage. 

But  with  the  great  influx  of  students  that 
building,  palatial  as  it  was  for  a  family,  be- 
came too  small  for  a  college.  That  was  the 
second  problem  that  confronted  me.  We 
shifted  along  as  best  we  could  for  six  years, 
when  it  became  absolutely  necessary  to  build. 
The  building  you  will  see  for  yourselves  on 
Tuesday.  It  cost  160,000  lire,  which  with  the 
repairs  to  the  old  palace  runs  the  sum  spent 
by  me  on  the  country  house  up  to  the  respect- 
able figure  of  230,500  lire.  The  total  sum 
spent  by  me  so  far  has  been  575,000  lire.  But 
it  was  money  well  spent,  for  I  feel  that  com- 
fortable provision  has  been  made  for  at  least 
150  students.  The  house  has  all  modern  im- 
provements, including  electric  light.     Those 


Administration  of  Bisliop  Kennedy    263 

who  still  have  vivid  recollections  of  the  old 
olive-oil  lamps  will  appreciate  the  improve- 
ment. Many  of  the  old  lamps  are  still  there. 
You  may  have  them  as  souvenirs  of  very  happy 
but  far  less  luxurious  times. 

I  must  not  forget  to  mention  that  Mgr. 
Millerick  provided  the  country  home  with 
baths.  The  last  and  not  the  least  addition,  in 
my  estimation,  to  the  College  property  is  a  new 
ball  field,  which  will  be  inaugurated  on  Tues- 
day with  appropriate  ceremony.  There  is  not 
a  cent  of  debt  on  the  College  property.  The 
burses  have  increased  in  number  during  the 
last  eight  years  from  forty-two  to  sixty,  with 
several  promises.  My  ambition  is  to  have  a 
hundred.  And  that  ambition  I  do  not  at  all 
consider  wild  or  unfounded.  I  have  placed 
with  the  Most  Rev.  Treasurer  $100,000  on  the 
condition  that  the  interest  be  allowed  to  accum- 
ulate and  be  added  to  the  principal  as  a  fund 
for  a  new  building  in  the  city  if  that  becomes 
expedient  or  necessary.  Other  sums  will  be 
added  from  time  to  time  as  circumstances 
permit. 


264    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

From  what  you  have  heard  you  will  agree 
that  the  College  is  fully  established.  All  the 
wishes  of  Mgr.  Doane  have  been  more  than 
realized.  And  as  we  stand  at  the  opening  of 
the  next  half  century  it  requires  no  prophetic 
eye  to  forecast  even  greater  prosperity  than 
we  are  enjoj^ing  to-day. 

There  is  just  one  duty  that  I  must  perform 
here  publicly  on  this  occasion.  It  is  a  duty 
of  thanksgiving.  To  neglect  it  were  base  in- 
gratitude. Mgr.  Doane,  among  other  reasons 
why  the  College  should  be  maintained,  gave 
the  following: 

"Another  point  must  be  remembered,  and 
that  is,  that  as  Rome  is  to  us  what  Jerusalem 
was  under  the  old  dispensation,  in  a  certain 
sense,  the  place  whither  the  *  tribes  of  the  earth 
go  up,'  so  it  is  very  desirable  that  every  nation 
should  have  a  college  there  which  should  serve 
as  a  kind  of  headquarters  to  represent  them, 
and  to  which  persons  coming  from  that  nation 
could  go,  and  feel  that  they  were  at  home. 
Thus,  the  Englishman  naturally  finds  his  way 
to  the  English  College,  the  Irishman  to  the 


Administration  of  Bishop  Kennedy     205 

Irish,  and  so  on;  and  he  finds  those  there  who 
can  speak  to  him  in  his  own  tongue,  and  to 
whom  he  can  apply  for  advice  and  informa- 
tion." 

Speaking  from  my  own  experience,  our 
country-people,  non-Catholic  as  well  as  Cath- 
olic, in  great  and  ever-increasing  numbers, 
have  flocked  here  and  always  received  the  most 
hearty  welcome.  It  is  no  easy  task  to  get  them 
what  they  want,  especially  in  the  limited  time 
they  usually  have  at  their  disposal.  It  would 
be  simply  an  impossible  task  and  out  of  the 
question  were  it  not  for  the  extraordinary, 
patient  kindness  of  him  who  during  my  time 
here  has  been  responsible  for  audiences  with 
His  Holiness.  In  the  name  of  this  College, 
which  feels  deeply  indebted,  and  of  that  im- 
mense number  of  Americans  who  have  been 
received,  I  want  to  thank  Our  Holy  Father 
for  his  great  kindness  in  granting  our  country- 
people  audiences  and  also  the  distinguished 
prelates  of  the  Vatican  for  their  uniform  cour- 
tesy to  us.  Dear  Alumni,  you  have  the  hearti- 
est thanks  of  Alma  Mater  for  the  sacrifices 


266    History  of  the  Ainerican  College, Fome 

you  have  made  to  honor  her  by  your  presence 
on  this  occasion.  I  thank  from  my  heart  the 
Rector  of  the  Catholic  University,  Dr.  Shahan, 
for  having  delegated  my  dear  friend  Dr.  Pace 
to  represent  that  institution  here  to-day. 


CHAPTER   IX 

AFTER   FIFTY   YEARS 

Tune,  1909,  was  a  memorable  and  never-to- 
be-forgotten  festival  of  honor  for  our  Alma 
Mater.  It  was  a  red-letter  month  in  the  life 
of  the  College.  Distinguished  alumni  from  all 
parts  of  America  gathered  in  the  Eternal  City 
to  take  part  in  the  ceremonies  and  festivities 
in  commemoration  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  establishment  of  the  College.  The  high- 
est dignitaries  of  the  Church  by  their  presence 
and  addresses  attested  their  esteem  and  appre- 
ciation of  the  admirable  work  and  progress 
accomplished  by  our  Alma  Mater  in  the  first 
half-century  of  her  existence.  With  a  slight 
change  of  the  words  of  Virgil,  we  may  justly 
ask:  "Where  is  the  diocese  in  America  that  is 
not  full  of  our  labors?"  From  the  many  trib- 
utes of  praise  bestowed  upon  our  Alma  Mater 
by  distinguished  prelates  on  those  auspicious 
occasions,  the  following  pages  will  give  a  fair 

267 


268   History  of  the  American  College.Bome 

idea  of  the  importance  of  the  functions  of  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  and  the  encomiums  of 
praise  pronounced  by  the  ecclesiastical  digni- 
taries who  took  delight  in  honoring  the  Ameri- 
can College. 

The  following  articles  were  published  in 
"Rom^e,"  "a  weekly  record  of  everything  worth 
knowing  about  in  the  Eternal  City,"  in  its 
issues  of  June  12,  19,  and  26  and  July  3  and 
10,  1909: 

LETTER  OF  THE  HOLY  FATHER  ON  THE 
AMERICAN  college' 

To   OUR   Venerable   Brother    Thomas, 

Titular  Bishop  of  Adrianopolis,  Rector 

OF  the  College  of  the  United  States  of 

America. 

Pius  PP.  X 

Venerable  Brother, 

Health  and  Apostolic  Benediction, 

At  the  completion  of  the  fiftieth  year  since 

the  foundation  of  the  College  over  which  you 

so  ably  preside,  We  are  highly  pleased  with 

what  you  tell  Us  concerning  the  celebration 

'Printed  in  "  Rome,"  June  19,  1909. 


After  Fifty  Years  269 

which  you  have  arranged  for  this  occasion. 
How  dear  We  hold  the  College  must  surely 
be  clear  to  you  who  more  than  once  have  heard 
Us  express  Our  extreme  gratification  at  the 
plentiful  harvest  of  sound  knowledge  and 
wholesome  discipline  which  it  has  yielded.  The 
fact,  indeed,  that  with  the  blessing  of  God 
Catholicism  flourishes  so  well  in  the  United 
States  of  North  America  is  due  in  no  small 
measure  to  this  Roman  home  of  piety  and 
learning  wherein  the  flower  of  American 
youth,  the  very  hope  of  their  several  dioceses, 
have  been  rightly  trained  and  whence  they  have 
gone  forth  to  labor  most  successfully  in  every 
line  of  activity  which  the  sacred  ministry  offers. 

This  happy  occasion,  We  understand,  will 
shortly  bring  to  Rome  many  of  the  alumni  of 
the  College  and  among  them  not  a  few  arch- 
bishops and  bishops  to  join  you  and  your  stu- 
dents in  glad  thanksgiving  to  God.  We  there- 
fore most  willingly  share  in  your  joy. 

We  rejoice  in  the  prosperity  of  your  ex- 
cellent institution  as  evidenced  by  the  high 
estimation  in  which  the  right-minded  hold  it 


270   History  of  the  American  Colleg  epitome 

and  by  the  growth  from  year  to  year  in  the 
number  of  its  students.  At  the  same  time  We 
implore  for  it  the  Divine  assistance  in  order 
that  it  may  continue  to  realize  fully  the  expec- 
tations of  the  Roman  Pontiff  and  of  Our  Ven- 
erable Brethren  from  America. 

As  an  omen  of  the  Divine  favor  and  a 
pledge  of  Our  special  good  will  toward  you, 
Venerable  Brother,  We  most  lovingly  bestow 
upon  you,  your  College  and  all  who  take  part 
in  these  Jubilee  festivities  Our  Apostolic  Ben- 
ediction. 

Given  at  St.  Peter's,  Rome,  June  2,  1909, 
the  sixth  year  of  Our  Pontificate. 

On  Your  Way  to  the  Street  of  Humility^ 

As  you  enter  the  narrow  Street  of  Humility 
the  great  buildings  of  Papal  Rome  hem  you  in 
on  both  sides  until  you  arrive  almost  at  the 
foot  of  the  Quirinal.  Substantially  all  the 
narrow,  winding  streets  are  as  they  w^ere  at  the 
end  of  the  cinqn ecento,  and  you  have  followed 
the  very  route  that  was  traversed  often  enough 

'From  "Rome,"  June  12,  1909. 


After  Fifty  Years  271 

by  Pope  Clement  VIII  when  he  went  from 
the  Vatican,  where  the  masons  and  architects 
were  still  working  on  the  f  a9ade  of  St.  Peter's, 
to  the  Quirinal,  where  they  were  finishing  the 
Apostolic  Palace.  Thus  he  must  often  have 
looked  with  an  interested  eye  at  the  building 
he  saw  rising  at  the  foot  of  the  slope  leading 
to  his  own  palace  and  destined  for  a  community 
of  Dominican  nuns.  Certainly,  Baglioni,  the 
architect,  would  have  been  greatly  puzzled  had 
anybody  told  him  that  he  was  building,  not  a 
Dominican  convent,  but  a  national  college  for 
the  United  States.  A  number  of  national  col- 
leges had  indeed  been  raised  during  the  pre- 
ceding half  century:  the  German  in  1552,  the 
Greek  in  1577,  the  English  in  1579,  destined 
to  send  shortly  forty-five  of  its  students  to 
martyrdom,  the  Maronite  in  1584,  and  Cle- 
ment himself  had  built  a  college  for  the  Scots 
in  the  Jubilee  year  of  1600,  while  the  Irish 
College  was  destined  to  appear  a  quarter  of 
a  century  later.  But  Baglioni  might  well  have 
asked:  "What  are  these  United  States  about 
which  you  are  dreaming?"    America,  indeed. 


272   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

he  must  liave  heard  of;  for  the  first  gold  of  that 
El  Dorado  had  been  sent  to  Rome  to  gild  the 
roof  of  St.  Mary  Major's  over  there  on  the 
Esquiline,  but  there  was  no  such  place  as  the 
United  States  on  the  maps  painted  half  a  cen- 
tury before  in  the  third  Loggia  of  the  Vatican. 

HOW    HIS    CONVENT    BECAME    THE    NATIONAL 
COLLEGE  OF  THE   UNITED   STATES 

Nevertheless,  O  good  Baglioni,  lay  your 
foundations  deep  and  build  your  walls  strong, 
and  cover  your  lovely  little  church  with  beauti- 
ful marbles  and  frescoes!  There  are  no  ma- 
terials in  Rome  or  out  of  Rome  too  good  for 
them.  And  all  ye  holy  Daughters  of  Dominic, 
who  are  to  pray  here  for  two  centuries,  call 
down  ten  thousand  blessings  on  those  ven- 
erable walls,  for  the  United  States  are  to  be, 
and  they  are  to  bring  glory  and  comfort  to 
the  Church  of  Christ,  and  this  convent  of  yours 
is  to  become  their  National  College,  the  Alma 
jMater  of  countless  priests  and  bishops  who 
will  go  forth  hence  filled  with  the  spirit  of 
Christian  Rome!    For  a  little  while  you  will 


After  Fifty  Years  273 

be  succeeded  by  your  Sisters  of  the  Visitation, 
and  for  a  brief  space  by  the  soldiers  who  have 
come  to  restore  the  Pope  to  Rome,  but  the 
years  are  passing  quickly,  and  Christ's  harvest 
is  growing,  growing,  growing,  until  it  is 
already  white  for  the  reapers!  Pius  IX,  "Ser- 
vant of  God,"  has  come  back  from  exile  in 
Gaeta;  he  hears  the  voices  of  his  children  in 
the  United  States  calling  to  him  to  give  them 
their  National  College  in  the  center  of  Chris- 
tendom; the  bishops  are  working  for  the  same 
object,  including  that  Bishop  of  Philadelphia 
who  is  perhaps  destined  to  be  the  first  canon- 
ized Saint  of  the  United  States;  the  generosity 
of  American  Catholics  is  being  appealed  to 
not  in  vain,  and  at  last,  on  the  Feast  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  fifty  years  ago,  the 
College  opens  its  doors  to  the  thirteen  stu- 
dents, pusillus  grecc,  who  are  to  begin  its  glori- 
ous history. 

THE  OPENING  CEREMONY  OF  THE  JUBILEE 

Fifty  years,  never  a  long  time  in  Rome, 
seemed  to  be  but  a  short  span  last  Tuesday  as 


274   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

you  iDassed  through  the  old  cloister  in  the 
American  College,  looking  into  the  court  in  the 
center  of  which  Our  Lady  looks  down  from 
her  column,  and  thence  into  the  little  church 
dedicated  to  her  Assumption.  For  in  the  triple 
rows  of  benches  on  either  side  Alma  Mater  has 
gathered  her  children,  even  from  her  earliest 
years,  again  to  her  bosom.  Archbishop  Seton, 
seated  third  on  the  left,  was  one  of  the  thirteen 
who  first  entered  the  College  fifty  years  ago; 
the  celebrant  of  the  INIass,  jNIgr.  Farley,  Arch- 
bishop of  New  York,  entered  a  few  years  later  ; 
so  did  JNIgr.  Burke,  Bishop  of  St.  Joseph,  and 
Mgr.  Keiley,  Bishop  of  Savannah.  Others  of 
the  episcopal  alumni  present,  like  JNIgr.  McDon- 
nell, Bishop  of  Brooklyn,  JNIgr.  Hoban,  Bishop 
of  Scranton,  Mgr.  Corrigan,  Auxiliary  to  the 
Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  were  only 
children  when  the  College  was  opened.  JNIgr. 
Kennedy,  Bishop  of  Adrianopolis,  the  present 
Rector,  who  sits  on  the  Gospel  side  nearest  the 
altar,  is  little  more  than  a  year  older  than  the 
College;  his  predecessor,  Mgr.  O'Connell, 
Archbishop  of  Boston,  who  is  seated  beside 


After  Fifty  Years  275 

him,  is  less  than  a  month  yomiger  than  it;  their 
immediate  predecessor,  Mgr.  Denis  O'Connell, 
Bishop  of  Sebaste,  has  just  gone  to  San  Fran- 
cisco to  be  auxiliary  to  Archbishop  Riordan, 
one  of  the  original  thirteen;  and  he  succeeded 
to  Mgr.  Chatard,  Bishop  of  Indianapolis,  who 
is  even  now  hastening  across  the  ocean  to  be 
present  for  some  part  of  the  celebration;  death 
has  made  only  one  break  in  the  succession,  for 
Mgr.  Chatard's  successor,  Dr.  Hostlot,  has 
long  been  sleeping  in  San  Lorenzo,  but  the 
first  Rector,  Mgr.  McCloskey,  still  rules  the 
see  of  Louisville.^ 

THE  REQUIEM  MASS 

But  if  Alma  Mater  rejoices  in  these  great 
sons  of  hers,  and  the  scores  of  alumni  who  have 
come  with  them  to  celebrate  her  Jubilee,  her 
first  thought  this  morning  must  be  for  her  chil- 
dren that  sleep,  for  she  is  a  mother  and  they 
are  the  dearest  to  her.  And  how  beautiful  and 
touching  and  solemn  are  the  prayers  and  the 
sacrifice  she  offers  up  for  them  this  morning, 

iDied  Sept.  16,  1909. 


276   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

when  the  Archbishop  approaches  the  altar  and 
the  strains  of  the  unseen  choir — Requiem 
ceternam  dona  eis.  Domine,  et  lux  perpetua 
luceat  eis! — break  suddenly  upon  the  silence. 
Even  in  these  first  notes  there  is  a  striking 
proof  of  that  spirit  of  love  for  the  teachings 
and  directions  of  the  Holy  See  which  has  been 
such  a  marked  characteristic  of  the  College  for 
the  last  fifty  years.  When  Pius  X  instituted 
his  reform  of  sacred  music  and  inculcated  the 
necessity  of  cultivating  it,  the  American  Col- 
lege was  the  first  to  take  up  his  instructions, 
and  with  such  enthusiasm  that  the  students' 
choir  is  already  famous  in  the  Eternal  City. 
Certainly  it  surpassed  itself  in  the  rendering 
of  the  two  Jubilee  JNIasses,  under  the  direction 
of  its  instructor,  Monsignor  Rella. 

THE  JUBILEE  MASS 

Next  morning  at  the  same  hour  all  the 
bishops,  prelates,  priests,  and  students  assem- 
bled again  in  the  College  church  for  the 
Jubilee  Mass  pontificated  by  Mgr.  O'Connell, 
Archbishop   of   Boston,   whose   place   in   the 


After  Fifty  Years  277 

choir  next  the  Rector  was  occupied  by  Mgr. 
Falconio,  Apostolic  Delegate  to  the  United 
States,  and  himself  a  citizen  of  the  great  Re- 
public where  he  represents  the  Holy  Father. 
What  a  majestic  and  inspiring  function  that 
was,  with  its  sacred  ceremonies  so  perfectly 
and  so  gracefully  carried  out  that  each  of  them 
was  like  a  fervent  prayer,  and  Perosi's  rich 
harmonies  blended  so  naturally  with  the  an- 
cient harmonies  of  St.  Gregory!  Yesterday 
Bishop  Burke  spoke  of  the  dead  sons  of  the 
College  ;  to-day,  Bishop  Corrigan  tells  in  calm 
eloquence  of  the  brief  history  of  the  fifty  years 
that  have  just  passed,  and  of  some  of  the  first- 
fruits  of  the  National  College  of  the  United 
States.  They  were  two  memorable  functions 
which  will  always  be  remembered  by  those  who 
had  the  fortune  to  be  present  at  them. 


278   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 


THE  JUBILEE  BANQUET 

The  Jubilee  Banquet,  which  took  place  the 
next  day,  the  feast  of  Corpus  Christi,  in  the 
College  refectory,  showed  among  other  things 
the  esteem  in  which  the  College  is  held  in  Rome, 
for  the  Rector's  invitations  were  gladly  ac- 
cepted by  Cardinals  Agliardi,  Vincenzo  Van- 
nutelli,  Martinelli,  Cavicchioni,  INIerry  del 
Val,  Gasparri,  and  De  Lai,  and  by  Cardinals 
Satolli  and  Gotti,  although  these  were  pre- 
vented by  indisposition  from  coming  ;  by  Mgr. 
Bisleti,  majordomo  to  His  Holiness;  Mgr. 
Falconio,  Delegate  Apostolic  to  the  United 
States;  Mgr.  Blenk,  Archbishop  of  New  Or- 
leans; Mgr.  Gabriels,  Bishop  of  Ogdensburg; 
Mgr.  Giles,  titular  Bishop  of  Philadelphia  and 
Rector  of  the  English  College;  Mgr.  Stanley, 
titular  Bishop  of  Emmaus;  Mgr.  Prior,  Audi- 
tor of  the  Rota;  Mgr.  Misciatelli,  Sub-Prefect 
of  the  Apostolic  Palaces;  the  high  officers  of 
the  Secretariate  of  State:  Mgrs.  Tedeschini, 
Benigni,  and  Canali  ;  the  Rectors  of  the  Scots, 
Irish,  Urban,  and  Canadian  Colleges;  Father 


After  Fifty  Years  279 

Schwartz,  Procurator-General  of  the  Redemp- 
torists;  Father  Brandì,  S.J.,  editor  of  "Civiltà 
Cattolica";  Father  Bellasis  of  the  Oratory, 
and  a  host  of  other  distinguished  prelates  and 
churchmen  as  well  as  by  all  the  alumni  who 
had  crossed  the  Atlantic  for  the  great  occasion. 

The  Rector  to  His  Guests 

Toward  the  close  of  the  dinner,  the  Rector 
rose  to  address  his  guests  as  follows:  "We  are 
deeply  sensible  of  the  high  honor  you  show  us 
by  your  presence  at  our  festive  board  to-day. 
You  come  to  share  our  jubilee  joys;  we  wel- 
come you  with  outstretched  arms  and  thank 
you  most  heartily  for  the  honor  of  your  pres- 
ence. We  anticipate  the  precise  date  of  the 
Golden  Jubilee,  December  8th  next,  for  the 
greater  comfort  of  the  visiting  alumni  on  their 
long  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  and  to  avail 
ourselves  of  these  beautiful  June  days  for  their 
better  entertainment. 

"This  is  our  jubilee  year.  Alma  Mater  is 
fifty  years  old,  very  young  indeed  as  age  is 
reckoned  in  this  Eternal  City,  but,  like  the 


280   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Nation  whose  beautiful  banner  floats  above 
her,  she  is  very  robust,  very  vigorous  for  her 
age.  She  is  ah-eady  gi^eat  in  the  results 
achieved  in  the  recent  past,  but  greatest  of  all 
in  the  promise  she  holds  out  of  still  grander 
results  in  the  future.  As  we  glance  in  retro- 
spect adown  the  fifty  years  to  the  foundation, 
we  find  that  the  guiding  influence,  the  primary 
principle  of  this  vigorous  growth,  has  been  the 
Holy  See. 

"But  I  must  not  anticipate.  We  have  here 
present  one  of  the  most  distinguished  as  well 
as  one  of  the  oldest  alumni,  who  has  come  to 
honor  his  Alma  Mater.  I  ask  His  Grace  the 
Most  Rev.  Archbishop  of  New  York  to  pro- 
pose the  health  of  Our  Holy  Father,  Pius  X." 

Mgr.  Farley's  Toast  to  the  Pope 

His  Grace  then  spoke  as  follow^s: 
"In  rising  to  discharge  the  sacred  duty  laid 
upon  me,  I  wish  to  thank  our  host,  Rt.  Rev. 
Dr.  Kennedy,  for  permitting  me  the  great 
privilege  of  proposing  the  health  of  our  be- 
loved Holy  Father  in  such  a  distinguished 


MOST    REV.    JOHN    M.     FARLEY,     D.D., 
ARCHBISHOP  OF  NEW  YORK 


After  Fifty  Years  281 

presence,  in  this  familiar  place,  and  on  such  an 
historic  occasion. 

''I  accepted  this  office  with  a  pleasure  I  can 
not  conceal,  and  for  many  reasons. 

"Pius  X  bears  a  name  that  should  be  dear 
to  every  alumnus  of  the  American  College. 
The  last  preceding  bearer  of  that  name  was 
our  Father  and  our  Founder,  and  our  life-long 
friend,  Pius  IX  of  holy  memory,  whom  our 
present  pontiff  in  feature  and  in  character,  as 
well  as  in  his  interest  in  our  Alma  Mater,  much 
resembles. 

"Were  I  speaking  not  to  a  toast  but  to  a 
text,  my  theme  would  be,  methinks,  that  the 
present  Pontiff  has,  by  a  special  providence, 
taken  the  name  of  those  Popes  whose  deeds 
and  virtues  are  most  conspicuous  in  his  own 
papal  career.  Take  only  a  few  of  the  most 
prominent  Piuses  of  history,  and  one  is  struck 
forcibly  by  the  strength  of  the  analogy.  Pius 
IV,  to  whose  zeal  we  owe  the  Council  of  Trent 
and  its  blessed  consequences,  was  most  remark- 
able for  his  work  of  reform,  and,  with  a  super- 
human insight  into  character,  chose  for  his 


282    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

chief  aid  in  the  great  work  the  youngest  Sec- 
retary of  State  that  ever  held  that  responsible 
office,  the  great  Charles  Borromeo.  Pius  X 
in  his  six  short  years  of  pontificate  has  filled 
the  world  with  his  force  of  zeal  in  the  same 
direction.  The  fifth  Pius  summoned  the  Chris- 
tian hosts  of  Europe  to  do  battle  against  a 
power  that,  but  for  him,  would  have  sup- 
planted the  Cross  with  the  Crescent  throughout 
Christendom,  and  he  made  Lepanto  the  grave 
of  the  Church's  greatest  enemy.  Pius  X  has 
summoned  the  universal  Church,  fixed  its  at- 
tention on  the  danger  threatening  all  revealed 
religion  from  the  half-hidden,  hydra-headed 
monster  of  Modernism,  wliich  under  his  con- 
demnation is  fast  sinking  unhonored  into  its 
tomb  beneath  the  storm  of  universal  Christian 
indignation  and  scorn. 

"The  sixth  and  seventh  Pius  had  their 
heaviest  cross  laid  upon  them,  alas  !  by  the  hand 
of  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Church.  How, 
in  the  long  and  terrible  contest,  they  triumphed 
over  the  scourge  of  Europe — our  own  great 
Pope  Pius  X,  too,  has  had  to  suffer,  ah,  how 


After  Fiftij  Years  283 

sorely  !  from  the  same  misrepresented  people — 
is  a  many-times-told  tale. 

*'I  can  never  think  of  that  mortal  combat 
in  the  administration  of  the  present  Pontiff 
without  recalling  the  scene  at  the  Beautiful 
Gate,  when  the  paralytic,  prostrate  and  help- 
less, pleaded  with  Peter  for  help. 

"Even  so  the  Church  of  France,  bound  hand 
and  foot  with  the  chains  of  the  Associations 
cultuelleSj  lay  powerless  in  the  hands  of  its 
greatest  foes,  before  another  Peter,  praying 
for  counsel,  inspiration,  and  courage.  Me- 
thinks  I  hear  then  the  words  of  Peter  ringing 
down  the  centuries  and  from  out  the  lips  of 
Pius,  'Silver  and  gold  I  have  none,  but  what 
I  have  I  give;  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
Church  of  France,  arise  and  walk.  I  give 
you  liberty,  even  at  the  cost  of  Apostolic 
poverty.' 

"And  the  Church  of  France  is  to-day  what 
she  has  not  been  in  centuries — free  to  make  all 
necessary  provisions  for  the  salvation  of  souls, 
free  for  its  bishops  to  visit  the  Vicar  of  Christ, 
as  sixty  of  them  did  a  few  days  ago  with  50,000 


284«   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

of  their  faithful  clergy  and  people,  without  the 
license  of  any  man. 

"Thank  God  for  Pius  X  who  injected  the 
courage  of  his  own  great  soul  into  the  faltering 
Church  of  France,  at  a  time  when  to  hesitate 
was  to  be  lost. 

"All  glory  to  the  noble  French  episcopate 
and  clergy  who  knew  and  obeyed  the  voice  of 
the  Good  Shepherd. 

"Gentlemen,  I  take  great  pleasure  in  pro- 
posing the  health  of  our  glorious  Pontiff ,  Pius 
X.  'Dominus  conservet  eum,  et  vivificet  eum, 
et  heatum  faciat  eum  in  terra,  et  non  tradat 
eum  in  manus  inimicorumf  " 

The  Rector,  introducing  the  next  speaker, 
said: 

"And  now  our  thoughts  turn  westward,  to 
the  land  of  the  setting  sun,  that  young  land 
so  rich  in  promise  for  JNIother  Church,  our 
country.  We  are  far  from  our  native  land. 
The  broad  Atlantic  rolls  between  us,  5,000 
miles  divide  us.  But  that  division  does  not 
reach  the  heart.     Separation  makes  the  heart 


After  Fifty  Years  285 

grow  fonder.  That  dear  flag  seems  beautiful 
at  home.  But  distance  lends  enchantment  to 
that  beauty  when  floating  abroad.  The  red, 
white,  and  blue  have  deeper  hues  on  a  foreign 
shore  and  the  stars  shine  with  added  luster. 
The  love  of  our  native  land  is  the  cause  of  the 
momentary  separation  from  home.  It  is  the 
mainspring  of  Alma  Mater's  existence.  That 
from  this  hallowed  sanctuary  may  go  forth 
into  the  broad  fields,  opulent  with  the  whiten- 
ing harvests,  a  numerous  band  of  reapers, 
strong  with  the  strength  of  the  Apostolic  spirit 
imbibed  here  at  the  fountain-head  of  the  Faith 
— that  is  the  purpose  of  our  College's  existence. 
"This  occasion  is  graced  by  the  presence  of 
a  very  distinguished  alumnus,  the  youngest  to 
wear  the  palliimi.  His  natal  day  is  the  natal 
day  of  Alma  Mater,  and  by  a  happy  coinci- 
dence he  celebrates  to-day  the  silver  jubilee  of 
his  priesthood.  I  propose  the  health  of  Our 
Country  and  request  His  Grace,  the  Most 
Rev.  Archbishop  of  Boston,  the  Most  Rev. 
William  O'Connell,  to  respond  to  the  toast." 


286   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Mgr.  O'Connell  on  "Our  Country" 
"It  is  right  that  after  the  toast  to  the  Pope 
we  should  toast  the  prosperity  of  our  country, 
our  beloved  America.  The  love  of  God,  of  the 
Church,  and  of  the  Pope  does  not  clash  with 
love  of  country,  but  on  the  contrary  renders 
it  holier,  stronger,  more  beautiful.  America 
has  now  solemnly  affirmed  its  position  among 
the  great  Powers.  Nobody  denies  that  wealth, 
commerce,  energy,  industry  are  the  necessary 
elements  for  the  develoi3ment  of  a  great  nation, 
and  nobody  doubts  that  America  possesses 
these  elements  in  abundance.  These  are  the 
bones  of  a  great  nation's  welfare.  But  they 
can  never  be  its  soul.  Without  the  moral  force 
which  makes  these  bones  live,  the  nation,  how- 
ever rich  it  may  be,  is  but  a  corpse.  And  this 
vital  force  comes  only  from  the  doctrine  of 
Christ,  preserved  and  imparted  by  the  Church. 
Of  what  avail  are  mines  of  gold  if  wealth  leads 
only  to  decadence?  And  if  liberty  leads  to 
license,  does  it  not  become  not  a  blessing,  but 
a  menace?  These  present  dangers  to  our  be- 
loved country  are  already  recognized  by  our 


HIS    EXCELLENCY,     MOST    REV.     DIOMEDE    FALCOXIO,     D.D. 

ARCHBISHOP    OF    LARISSA 

APOSTOLIC    DELEGATE    TO    THE    UNITED    STATES 


After  Fifty  Years  287 

great  statesmen.  Well  shall  it  be  for  America 
if  amid  her  material  progress  she  pays  heed  to 
the  salutary  counsel  Rome  has  given  the  people 
through  the  ages,  and  well  it  is  for  America 
to-day  that  this  voice  may  freely  resound.  The 
greatest  security  for  the  future  of  America 
lies  in  that  perfect  liberty  which  the  Church 
enjoys  there.  May  God  prosper  America! 
May  she  ever  be  able  to  rejoice  more  and  more 
in  her  national  resources.  But  amid  the  din 
of  commerce  may  the  voice  of  the  Church  and 
of  the  Vicar  of  Christ  penetrate  more  deeply." 

Mgr.  Kennedy  then  introduced  Mgr.  Fal- 
conio  to  speak  on  the  Hierarchy  of  the  United 
States  : 

"The  wisdom  of  the  Holy  See  in  founding 
this  College  and  the  great  possibilities  for  God 
which  such  an  institution  offered  were  quickly 
realized  by  the  Bishops  of  the  United  States. 
To  their  encouragement  and  support  we  owe 
in  a  large  measure  the  preservation  of  the  Col- 
lege, its  growth,  and  its  success.  In  their  ranks 
we  rejoice  to  see  a  goodly  number  of  our 


288   History  of  the  American  College, Eome 

Alumni,  and  it  is  a  special  pleasure  to  wel- 
come those  who  honor  us  by  their  presence  at 
this  jubilee  celebration. 

"It  was  an  act  of  good-will  and  a  favor 
which  we  all  appreciate  that  the  representative 
of  the  Holy  See  in  our  country  should  have 
become  a  fellow-traveler  with  our  Alumni  in 
their  voyage  across  the  Atlantic.  ]\Igr.  Fal- 
conio,  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  which  his 
high  office  imposes  upon  him,  has  endeared  him- 
self to  our  people  and  clergy.  With  the  in- 
terests of  religion  ever  uppermost  in  his  mind, 
he  has  gotten  a  thorough  insight  into  our 
American  conditions.  In  fact,  we  are  proud 
to  claim  him  as  an  American,  and  I  will  there- 
fore ask  him  to  respond  to  the  toast  :  The  Hier- 
archy of  the  United  States." 

A  Tribute  to  the  American  Hierarchy, 
BY  ]\Igr.  Falconio 

APOSTOLIC    DELEGATE    TO    THE    UNITED    STATES 

His  Excellency,  Archbishop  Falconio,  after 
having  thanked  the  officers  and  members  of  the 
Association  of  the  Alumni  of  the  American 


After  Fifty  Years  289 

College  for  the  courtesy  shown  to  him  in  hav- 
ing had  him  as  their  guest  from  New  York  to 
Rome  in  order  to  take  part  at  the  celebration 
of  the  Jubilee,  answered  to  the  toast  as  follows  : 

"The  Right  Rev.  Rector  of  the  College  has 
been  pleased  to  request  me  to  answer  to  the 
toast  *The  Hierarchy  of  the  United  States.' 

"To  do  justice  to  the  merits  of  the  American 
Hierarchy  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  argu- 
ment more  appropriate  and  conclusive  than 
to  cast  a  glance  at  the  work  which  it  has  accom- 
plished since  its  institution. 

"The  history  of  the  Hierarchy  of  the  United 
States  does  not  go  farther  back  than  one  hun- 
dred and  one  years.  We  celebrated  its  cen- 
tennial last  year,  and  all  hearts  were  filled  with 
joy  on  seeing  what  this  wonderful  organization 
had  accomplished  during  this  short  period. 

"Truly,  the  Church  of  the  United  States, 
under  the  wise  administration  of  zealous  bish- 
ops and  faithful  priests,  has  made  wonderful 
progress  during  this  comparatively  short 
period.  The  already  numerous  dioceses,  the 
daily  multiplication  of  parishes,  the  nimierous 


290    History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

institutions  of  charity  which  provide  for  every 
need  in  Hfe,  but  what  is  still  more  wonderful — 
the  colossal  work  which  the  American  Hier- 
archy has  so  courageously  undertaken  for  the 
religious  education  of  Catholic  children  and 
which  she  is  so  successfully  carrying  out — 
show  the  prodigious  progress  which  the  Church 
has  made  and  consequently  the  wonderful 
work  which  the  American  Hierarchy  has  ac- 
complished. 

"And,  indeed,  we  observe  that  within  the 
brief  span  of  a  century,  viz.,  since  the  immortal 
Pius  VII  laid  the  foundation  of  the  American 
Hierarchy,  already  ninety-two  dioceses,  vi- 
cariates and  apostolic-prefectures  have  been 
organized,  divided  in  fourteen  ecclesiastical 
provinces,  generally  all  well  equipped  with  a 
zealous  clergy,  beautiful  churches,  monumental 
cathedrals,  with  every  work  of  Christian  char- 
ity and  a  well-organized  system  of  Catholic 
education  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  degree 
of  culture,  which  yearly  cost  the  people  mil- 
lions and  millions  of  dollars  and  save  millions 
and  millions  of  souls. 


After  Fifty  Years  291 

"Who,  maj'- 1  ask,  who  amongst  those  noble 
souls  who  one  hundred  and  one  years  ago  de- 
vised the  foundation  of  the  Catholic  Hierarchy 
in  the  United  States  could  have  ever  surmised 
that  the  Church  would  have  made  the  wonder- 
ful progress  which  she  has  made?  Who  could 
have  ever  imagined  that  American  Catholics, 
after  years  of  bitter  persecution  and  trials, 
would  have  occupied  the  high  position  they 
hold  to-day?  Perhaps  that  great  champion  of 
the  Faith,  the  great,  the  noble,  the  learned, 
the  pious  Bishop  Carroll,  who  first  devised  the 
erection  of  the  American  Hierarchy,  may  have 
had  some  conception  of  future  greatness;  per- 
haps the  immortal  Pontiffs,  Pius  VII,  who 
elected  the  first  bishop  in  that  vast  continent, 
and  Pius  VIII,  who  signed  the  Bulls  for  the 
erection  of  the  Hierarchy,  may  have  cherished 
the  hope  that  the  New  World  would  have 
added  in  the  course  of  time  new  luster  to  God's 
divine  Kingdom  upon  earth.  However,  I 
do  not  think  that  there  could  have  been 
any  one  who  could  have  foreseen  the  really 
extraordinary    progress    which    the    Church 


292   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

has  made  throughout  the  United  States  of 
America. 

"How  explain  this  unforeseen  progress 
which  to-day  ranks  the  Church  in  the  United 
States  amongst  the  most  advanced  and  the 
most  promising  portions  of  our  Blessed  Lord's 
vineyard  in  the  world?  Or,  may  I  ask  to  wliat 
powerful  influence  is  this  progress  due?  For- 
sooth to  the  hberty  accorded  to  religion  by  the 
laws  of  the  land?  to  the  natural  progressive 
spirit  of  that  nation  blessed  by  God?  There 
is  no  doubt  that  these  agencies  have  contrib- 
uted in  good  measure  to  the  propagation  of 
Cathohcism  in  the  United  States;  but  permit 
me  to  observe  that  these  very  advantages  would 
have  remained  fruitless  had  it  not  been  for  that 
apostolic  zeal  which  has  always  been  the  dis- 
tinguishing characteristic  of  the  American 
bishop  and  the  American  priest.  Yes,  I  am 
glad  to  say,  that  after  God,  the  progress  which 
our  holy  religion  has  made  is  principally  due 
to  the  zeal  of  these  apostolic  men,  the  bishops 
and  the  priests  who  have  known  how  to  profit 
by  the  advantageous  and  prosperous  conditions 


After  Fifty  Years  293 

of  a  free  and  flourishing  nation  for  the  ex- 
pansion of  the  kingdom  of  Christ;  yes,  they, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Supreme  Pontiff 
and  their  Superiors  in  Rome,  have  made  the 
Church  in  the  United  States  what  she  is  to- 
day, namely:  'One  of  the  brightest  portions  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God  upon  earth/ 

"Then,  may  God  bestow  His  choicest  bless- 
ings upon  the  American  Hierarchy,  in  order 
that  it  may  continue  to  shine  full  of  merits  and 
glory  in  the  vast  panorama  of  the  Church. 
May  He  bestow  His  choicest  blessings  upon  the 
bishops  and  priests,  so  that  they  may  continue 
to  work  zealously  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  the 
glory  of  God,  and  the  spiritual  and  temporal 
welfare  of  their  beloved  country." 

Mgr.  Kennedy  on  His  Predecessors 

The  present  Rector  of  the  College  then 
asked  all  to  drink  the  health  of  his  predeces- 
sors, in  these  terms: 

"The  most  striking  proof  of  the  worth  of  a 
college  is  the  affection  which  the  students  en- 
tertain for  it.    Measured  by  this  standard,  the 


294   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

North  American  College  stands  high  and  has 
good  reason  to  rejoice.  Even  the  slightest 
reference  to  the  old  College  on  the  Umiltà 
awakens  the  tenderest  affections  in  the  hearts 
of  the  Alumni.  Like  devoted  loyal  children, 
whether  they  suffered  privation  when  the 
means  of  the  home  were  slender,  or  shared  the 
abundance  of  good  things  in  more  prosperous 
days,  alike  in  scarcity  as  in  plenty,  the  stu- 
dents of  this  dear  Alma  Mater  have  always 
been  loyal,  devoted,  and  affectionate  to  her. 
'Surrexerunt  filii  ejus  et  beatam  predicaver- 
unt  earn.'  It  would  have  been  a  great  joy  for 
us,  had  he  who  was  the  first  to  guide  her  infant 
steps  been  able  to  be  present  on  this  occasion. 
I  mean  the  first  Rector,  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
McCloskey  of  Louisville,  whose  name,  to  quote 
Archbishop  Ryan,  'should  be  enshrined  in  the 
traditions  of  the  College.'  But  the  infirmities 
of  age  prevented.  His  heart  is  with  us.  A 
few  months  ago  he  sent  me  the  conspicuous 
sum  of  $1,250  for  'the  dear  old  College,'  as 
he  called  it.  It  will  brighten  the  tranquil  even- 
ing of  his  long  and  useful  hfe  to  know  that  the 


After  Fifty  Years  295 

College,  of  which  he  was  the  first  Rector,  holds 
him  in  grateful  remembrance.  I  ask  you  to 
drink  the  health  of  the  first  Rector." 

"The  affection  which  students  show  the 
mother  that  nurtured  them  reflects  credit  on 
them  as  well  as  on  her,  and  it  is  a  proof  of  their 
worth  as  well  as  of  hers.  As  I  have  said,  the 
love  of  the  Alumni  for  this  College  is  pro- 
verbial. With  tears  in  their  eyes  they  pause 
lovingly  on  the  threshold  to  say  *Good-by.'  In 
the  midst  of  the  trials  of  their  ministry  it  is 
refreshing  to  remember  this  sanctuary  in  which 
their  vocations  were  nursed  into  steady  growth. 
With  great  gladness  and  rejoicing  they  return 
home.  'Euntes  ibant  et  flebant.  Venientes 
autem  venient  cum  magna  exultatione,  por- 
tantes  manipulos  suosf  Yes,  the  Alumni  in 
great  numbers  come  back  to-day,  crowned  with 
the  laurels  of  duty  done,  and  Alma  Mater 
embraces  and  welcomes  them  with  a  mother's 
joy.  I  invite  you  to  drink  the  health  of  the 
Alumni,  and  call  on  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Burke  to  respond  to  the  toast." 


296   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

The  Bishop  of  St.  Joseph  on  "The 
Alumni" 

"It  is  a  very  great  pleasure  for  me  to  have 
the  privilege  of  responding  to  the  toast,  'The 
Alumni  of  the  College,'  on  this  memorable  and 
historic  occasion  when  we  celebrate  the  Golden 
Jubilee  of  our  Alma  Mater.  When  I  entered 
the  College,  October  15,  1866,  all  the  first  stu- 
dents and  those  who  came  in  1860  had  gone 
forth  to  their  labors,  and  although  the  College 
had  been  in  existence  only  seven  years,  it  had 
its  well-established  and  well-observed  rules  and 
discipline,  even  its  traditions,  and  the  Alumni 
of  the  time,  twenty-one  in  all,  often  spoke  of 
the  'old  students'  with  pride  and  admiration. 
You  all  well  know  with  what  paternal  affection 
they  were  regarded  and  fostered  by  Pius  IX 
of  holy  memory,  and  it  is  a  pleasure  and  grati- 
fication for  us  who  came  after  them  that,  on 
the  whole,  they  proved  themselves  worthy  of 
his  sovereign  benevolence  and  kindness.  Of 
the  original  twelve,  three  became  archbishops: 
the  late  lamented  Archbishop  Corrigan  of  New 


After  Fifty  Years  297 

York,  ArchbishoxD  Riordan  of  San  Francisco, 
and  Archbishop  Seton,  who  is  with  us  here  to- 
daj^  has  for  his  titular  See  HeliopoHs  or  Baal- 
bec,  City  of  the  Sun,  whose  origin  is  lost  in 
antiquity.  The  great  and  illustrious  successors 
of  Pius  IX  have  singularly  honored  the  alumni 
of  the  American  College,  and  have  bestowed 
upon  them  numerous  marks  of  confidence  and 
favor.  Of  the  students  who  entered  the  Col- 
lege in  1860,  three  became  bishops:  Bishop 
Northrop  of  Charleston,  Bishop  Richter  of 
Grand  Rapids,  and  the  late  Bishop  Horst- 
mann  of  Cleveland.  Of  those  of  my  time,  two 
have  been  raised  to  the  archiepiscopal  and 
seven  to  the  episcopal  dignity:  the  present 
Archbishops  of  New  York  and  Cincinnati,  the 
Bishops  of  Brooklyn,  Savannah,  Newark, 
Nashville,  the  auxiliary  Bishops  of  San  Fran- 
cisco and  Baltimore;  and  as  the  first  shall  be 
last,  the  Bishop  of  St.  Joseph.  Of  the  students 
who  entered  after  1875,  William  H.  O'Con- 
nell  is  the  present  Archbishop  of  Boston, 
Michael  John  Hoban  is  Bishop  of  Scranton, 
the  late  Frederick  Rooker  was  the  Bishop  of 


298   History  of  the  American  College,Rome 

Jaro  in  the  Philippine  Islands  and  is  succeeded 
by  Denis  Dougherty,  the  former  Bishop  of 
Nueva  Segovia.  John  B.  ]\Iorris  is  Bishop  of 
Little  Rock,  Mgr.  Thomas  F.  Kennedy,  our 
present  honored  Rector,  is  Bishop  of  Adiian- 
opolis,  and  Mgr.  John  P.  Farrelly  is  the  pres- 
ent Bishop  of  Cleveland;  so  that  we  have  cer- 
tainly a  goodly  number  of  the  alumni  of  the 
College  among  the  chief  pastors  who  are  ruling 
and  shaping  the  destinies  of  the  Church  in  the 
United  States  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the 
Pacific  ;  and  not  only  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States,  'Che  direbbe  corto,  ma  Oriente 
se  proprio  dir  vuole/  in  the  far  distant  lands 
of  the  sea. 

"But  what  should  I  say,  if  time  permitted, 
of  all  those  who  have  received  honorable  titles 
and  high  distinctions  from  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff for  their  distinguished  services  to  religion 
or  for  their  intellectual  attainments  ?  What  of 
all  the  secretaries  and  chancellors,  and  vicars- 
general,  of  the  rectors  of  cathedrals,  colleges, 
and  seminaries,  of  the  illustrious  scholars  and 
professors  of  our  national  Catholic  University, 


After  Fifty  Years  299 

and  other  educational  institutions  throughout 
the  whole  extent  of  our  vast  country?  The 
alumni  of  the  American  College  have  made  for 
themselves  a  noble  record,  and  their  labors  and 
their  zeal  have  been  attended  with  a  great 
measure  of  success. 

"But  this  is  only  the  beginning  of  what  they 
are  destined  to  accomplish  in  time  to  come  for 
the  Catholic  Church  and  Christian  civilization 
in  the  great  Republic  of  the  United  States. 

"Fifty  years  ago  twelve  students  began  to 
prepare  themselves  for  the  sacred  ministry 
within  these  hallowed  walls;  to-day  the  College 
numbers  nearly  twelve  times  as  many  students, 
who  are  distinguished  for  their  talents  and  in- 
tellectual attainments  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
have  merited  time  and  again  the  praise  and 
congratulations  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  him- 
self. In  an  audience  given  to  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Rector  and  all  the  students  of  the  College  some 
two  years  ago,  His  Holiness  said,  among  other 
complimentary  expressions:  'I  am  very  happy 
indeed  to  see  you  all  here  and  to  know  you  one 
by  one.     I  have  heard  nothing  but  good  re- 


300   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

ports  about  you.  I  know  all  about  your  piety, 
your  splendid  progress  at  your  studies,  your 
excellent  discipline.  I  congratulate  you  with 
aH  my  heart,  and  I  am  very  glad  to  tell  you 
that  I  am  highly  pleased  with  you.'  With  such 
marvelous  growth  and  progress  from  such  a 
small  beginning,  now  the  largest  pontifical 
college  in  the  Eternal  City,  with  the  piety 
and  learning  and  admirable  discipline  of  the 
alumni,  wdth  all  their  filial  love  of  the  Roman 
Pontiffs,  their  unalterable  devotion  and  attach- 
ment to  the  Holy  See — the  center  of  the  di- 
vinely established  unity  of  the  Church  of  God 
— with  the  confidence  and  approbation  of  the 
American  Hierarchy,  with  the  encouragement 
and  assistance  of  the  Alumni  Association,  com- 
prising now  some  three  hundred  members,  with 
their  noble  and  generous  traditions  and  great 
love  for  their  Alma  ]\Iater — what  may  be  ex- 
pected from  the  students  of  the  American  Col- 
lege in  the  fifty  years  to  come?  It  is  bej^ond 
all  conception  now,  but  will  be  told,  perhaps, 
by  some  of  the  young  levites  who  are  here  to- 
day preparing  themselves  to  go  forth  later  to 


After  Fifty  Years  301 

their  work  among  a  generous  and  grateful 
people,  lovers  of  truth,  who  even  where  pro- 
fessing no  religion  themselves,  have  a  great 
respect  for  the  religious  convictions  of  those 
who  do,  and  who  are  instinct  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity  and  Christian  charity, 
justice,  and  true  liberty.  One  thing  is  certain 
— the  American  students  of  Rome  shall  have  a 
great  and  glorious  future;  and  when  the  Cen- 
tenary of  their  Alma  Mater  shall  be  celebrated 
they  shall  have  had  among  them  many  men 
of  renown,  men  of  great  power  and  endowed 
with  wisdom  and  rich  in  virtue  ;  *and  the  people 
shall  show  forth  their  wisdom  and  the  Church 
declare  their  praise.'  I  can  not  conclude  these 
few  remarks  without  expressing  our  most  pro- 
found gratitude  and  heartfelt  congratulations 
on  this  splendid  Jubilee  celebration  to  the  E.t. 
Rev.  Rectors  of  the  past  fifty  years,  all  of 
whom,  except  one,  are  still  happily  living  and 
in  active  service,  who  above  all  other  influences 
have  been  instrumental  in  forming  the  char- 
acter and  habits,  and  directing  the  conduct  of 
the  students  and  making  them  worthy  of  their 


302    History  of  the  American  College^Rome 

high  responsibihties  ;  and  to  whom  is  due  in  a 
great  measure  whatever  success  has  attended 
their  labors  in  the  sacred  ministry.  But  to 
none  are  we  more  indebted  than  to  our  host, 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  of  Adrianopohs,  to  whose 
untiring  energies,  enhghtening  zeal,  and  devo- 
tion to  duty  the  College  owes  its  present  high 
standing,  and  the  magnificent  expansion  to 
which  it  has  attained  on  its  Golden  Jubilee. 
In  conclusion,  and  in  behalf  of  the  Alumni 
Association,  I  beg  to  express  our  high  appre- 
ciation of  the  great  work  that  has  been  done 
by  the  American  College  of  Rome  ;  and  to  say 
that  in  the  future  as  in  the  past  the  Alumni 
shall  leave  nothing  undone  that  is  possible  to 
promote  the  growth,  progress,  and  glory  of 
our  Alma  INIater." 

At  intervals  during  these  eloquent  addresses 
the  students,  past  and  present,  sang  the  beauti- 
ful hymn  to  the  Pope  composed  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Ganss  and  written  by  Rev.  Dr.  Henry, 
and  America's  real  national  hymn:  "The  Star 
Spangled  Banner." 

This  afternoon,  as  "Rome"  goes  to  press. 


After  Fifty  Years  303 

they  are  all  gathered  again  in  the  College  to 
listen  to  a  beautiful  letter  from  the  Holy 
Father,  expressing  his  praise  and  affection  for 
the  American  College,  to  a  series  of  eloquent 
addresses  and  beautiful  poems  called  forth  by 
the  occasion,  and  to  the  singing  of  the  students 
and  some  of  the  great  virtuosos  of  Rome. 


•304    History  of  the  American  College, Eome 

THE  DEAD  OF  FIFTY  YEARS' 

Sermon  Preached  by  Mgr.  Burke,  Bishop 
OF  St.  Joseph, 

AT    THE    requiem     MASS     IN    THE     AMERICAN 
COLLEGE  CHURCH,  JUNE  8,  1909 

"We  will  not  have  you  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning  them 
that  sleep,  that  you  be  not  sorrowful,  even  as  others  who  have 
no  hope." 

CJt.  Augustine  in  his  sermon  on  these  words 
^  of  the  Apostle  says  that  it  is  against 
nature  not  to  feel  sorrow  for  those  who  during 
life  were  dear  to  us,  but  in  our  sorrow  we  must 
not  feel  like  them  who  have  no  hope  of  a 
future  life,  and  must  find  our  comfort  and  ex- 
press our  hope  in  prayers  and  sacrifices  for 
their  eternal  repose. 

And  the  Apostle,  as  in  the  text,  to  assuage 
the  grief  of  the  Thessalonians,  propounds  to 
them  the  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection.  "For 
if  we  believe,"  he  continues,  "that  Jesus  died 
and  rose  again,  even  so  them  that  sleep  through 
Jesus  will  God  bring  with  Him.    For  the  Lord 

^Taken  from  "Rome,"  June  12,  1909. 


After  Fifty  Years  305 

Himself  shall  come  down  from  heaven  with 
commandment  and  with  the  voice  of  an  arch- 
angel, and  with  the  trumpet  of  God;  and  the 
dead  who  are  in  Christ  shall  rise  first  ;  then  we 
who  are  alive,  who  are  left,  shall  be  taken  up 
together  with  them  in  the  clouds,  into  the  air, 
and  so  shall  we  be  always  with  the  Lord. 
Wherefore  comfort  you  one  another  with  these 
words." 

The  Church  of  God  has  ever  held  in  holy  and 
affectionate  remembrance  the  souls  of  her  chil- 
dren who  have  passed  away,  of  those  "who  have 
gone  before  us  with  the  sign  of  faith,  and  who 
rest  in  the  sleep  of  peace."  But  the  solermi 
commemoration  we  are  observing  to-day  is  not 
only  the  common  and  practical  exercise  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  Communion  of  Saints  in  regard 
to  the  dead,  but  a  grateful  and  charitable  re- 
membrance of  departed  friends  with  whom  we 
were  united  in  the  bonds  of  personal  friend- 
ship here  on  earth,  of  fellow-students,  fellow- 
priests  and  bishops  in  the  sacred  ministry,  who 
during  the  past  fifty  years  have  been  called 
to  give  an  account  of  their  stewardship.    More- 


306   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

over,  this  solemn  Requiem  for  our  departed 
brethren  is  intensified  and  made  more  impres- 
sive by  the  thought  and  circumstance  that  they 
often  prayed,  worshiped  God,  and  offered  up 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  for  the  living  and  the  dead 
in  this  sanctuary  in  which  we  are  assembled 
to-day  in  the  "unity  of  the  spirit  and  the  bond 
of  peace."  It  is  well,  therefore,  that  we  who 
in  the  course  of  our  joyful  reunion  and  jubilee 
celebration,  not  "ignorant  concerning  them 
that  sleep,"  but  instructed  by  Catholic  faith  and 
moved  by  Christian  charity,  are  mindful  that 
"it  is  a  holy  and  wholesome  thought  to  pray 
for  the  dead  that  they  may  be  loosed  from  their 
sins."  Yes,  it  was  here  they  poured  out  their 
pure  and  fervent  hearts  to  God  in  prayers  and 
supplications  and  thanksgivings  while  pre- 
paring for  their  sacred  ministry,  and  learning 
"goodness,  and  discipline,  and  knowledge," 
whence  they  were  to  go  forth  as  "the  ministers 
of  Christ  and  the  dispensers  of  the  mysteries 
of  God."  It  was  here  they  observed  the  great 
festivals  of  the  Church,  and  solemnly  commem- 
orated the  mysteries  of  the  Faith,  and  prayed 


After  Fifty  Years  307 

and  sang  and  made  melody  in  their  hearts  to 
God. 

It  was  here  they  observed  the  feasts,  and  the 
beautiful  devotions  of  the  month  of  May  in 
honor  of  the  Immaculate  Virgin  Mother  and 
Queen  of  Heaven.  It  was  here  that  the  first 
students  a  short  time  after  the  opening  of  the 
College,  and  others  of  us  a  few  years  later,  saw 
the  Vicar  of  Christ,  who  was  with  us  like  the 
Divine  Master  with  His  disciples,  who  spoke 
to  us,  not  as  servants,  but  as  friends,  when  our 
hearts  burned  within  us  as  we  accompanied 
him  through  the  College  and  *'he  spoke  in  the 
way." 

It  was  here,  in  a  word,  in  this  beautiful 
sanctuary,  they  learned  and  fostered  that  great 
love  of  the  ever-blessed  Mother  of  God,  and 
that  affectionate  and  unfaltering  devotion  to 
the  Vicar  of  Christ  Jesus,  the  infallible  teacher 
of  the  revelation  of  God  and  the  "Faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints;  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus."  It  was  from  here  they  went  forth  to 
the  labors  of  the  apostolic  ministry,  some,  in- 
deed, short-lived — but  "beloved  of  God,  and 


308   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

being  made  perfect  in  a  short  space,  fulfilled  a 
long  time — others,  to  their  work  and  their 
labor  until  the  evening." 

And  to-day  in  grateful  remembrance,  in  the 
charity  of  Christ,  in  the  hope  of  salvation,  and 
in  accordance  with  the  teaching  and  practice 
of  the  Universal  Church  throughout  all  the 
ages  of  the  Christian  Dispensation,  we  offer 
up  for  the  eternal  repose  of  their  souls  the  holy 
sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  and  commend  them  to 
the  "Father  of  mercies,  and  the  God  of  all 
comfort."  Their  memory  is  to  us  a  precious 
inheritance;  their  lives  were  spent  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God,  they  died  in  the  Lord  and  their 
works  have  followed  them.  ''They  fought  the 
good  fight,  they  finished  their  course,  they  kept 
the  Faith.  As  for  the  rest,  we  confidently  hope 
and  pray  that  the  Lord,  the  just  Judge,  will 
bestow  upon  them  the  crown  of  Justice  in  that 
day." 

My  dear  friends  and  brethren,  it  is  good  for 
us  to  be  here  to-day  in  this  House  of  God,  so 
full  of  sacred  memories  of  the  past,  where  we 
spent  some  of  the  most  precious  hours  of  our 


After  Fifty  Years  309 

life  in  prayers  and  supplications  to  God  to 
bless  and  sanctify  our  souls,  and  for  the  grace 
of  fortitude  and  perseverance  in  our  sacred 
ministry,  as  did  those  who  have  gone  before 
us,  and  for  whom  we  pray  and  offer  up  the 
holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  to-day.  And  while 
performing  this  holy  and  wholesome  service 
in  their  regard,  let  us  be  mindful  that  we  have 
yet  to  continue  the  good  fight  of  faith,  "to 
consummate  our  course,  and  the  ministry  of 
the  word  which  we  have  received  from  the  Lord 
Jesus,"  and  that  through  many  tribulations  we 
must  enter  the  Kingdom  of  God;  but  also  to 
remember  that  "what  is  at  present  momentary 
and  light  of  our  tribulations  worketh  for  us 
above  measure  exceedingly  an  eternal  weight 
of  glory." 

It  is  good  for  us  to  be  here  in  Rome  where 
the  true  and  acceptable  sacrifice  has  never 
ceased  to  be  offered  from  the  days  of  the 
apostles,  and  where  the  Faith  of  Peter  has 
never  failed — the  Apostolic  See,  the  center  of 
the  divine  unity  of  "the  Church  of  the  living 
God,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  Truth." 


310   History  of  the  American  College, Eome 

Yes,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here  in  Rome, 
and  in  the  words  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Romans,  to 
"be  comforted  together  in  that  which  is  com- 
mon to  us  both,  your  faith  and  mine"  ;  and  in 
commemorating  our  departed  friends,  to  re- 
joice together  in  the  faith  and  glory  of  the 
Resurrection.  "I  am  the  resurrection  and  the 
life,"  says  our  divine  Lord;  "he  that  believeth 
in  Me,  although  he  be  dead,  shall  live;  and 
every  one  that  liveth  and  believeth  in  JNIe  shall 
not  die  forever."  "Blessed,"  therefore,  "be  the 
God  and  Father  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  according  to  His  great  mercy  hath  regen- 
erated us  unto  a  lively  hope  by  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead;  unto  an  in- 
heritance incorruptible  and  undefiled,  and  that 
can  not  fade,  reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  who 
by  the  power  of  God  are  kept  by  faith  unto 
salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time. 
Wherein  you  shall  greatly  rejoice,  if  now  you 
must  for  a  little  time  be  made  sorrowful  in 
divers  temptations,  that  the  trial  of  your  faith, 
much  more  precious  than  gold  which  is  tried 
by  the  fire,  may  be  found  unto  praise  and  glory 


After  Fifty  Years  311 

and  honor  at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ; 
whom,  having  not  seen,  you  love;  in  whom 
also  now,  though  you  see  Him  not,  you  believe, 
and  believing,  shall  rejoice  with  joy  unspeak- 
able and  glorified:  receiving  the  end  of  your 
faith,  even  the  salvation  of  your  souls." 

The  Jubilee  of  the  American  College^ 
sermon  preached  by  mgr.  corrigan,  coad- 
jutor to  the  cardinal  archbishop  of 
baltimore,  at  the  church  of  the 
american    college,    feast   of 
corpus  christi,  1909 
When  the  history  of  the  Church  during  the 
last  fifty  years  in  which  we  have  lived  comes 
to  be  written,  it  will  be  recognized  that  the 
founding  of  this  American  College,  of  which 
we  are  celebrating  the  fiftieth  anniversary,  be- 
gan a  new  era  for  the  Church  of  God  in  the 
United  States  of  America. 

Success  in  propagating  the  Faith  has  always 
been  in  proportion  to  the  intimacy  existing 
with  the  Holy  See.  Whenever  there  has  been 
trouble,  or  discussion,  or  corruption,  it  has 

*As  published  in  "Rome"  of  June  12,  1909. 


312    History  of  the  American  College.Bome 

always  been  when  and  where  attempts  more  or 
less  successful  have  been  made  to  lessen  the 
influence  of  Rome  and  the  Pope  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church.  There  is  no  need  of  going 
into  detail  on  this  subject. 

Even  a  careless  or  superficial  study  of  the 
history  of  the  Church  will  convince  us  that  this 
union  with  the  See  of  Peter  is  the  criterion  of 
success  or  failure  in  the  efforts  made  for  the 
spread  of  the  Faith  of  Christ.  The  Holy  See 
has  always  recognized  the  importance  of  this 
living  union  between  itself  and  the  churches 
throughout  the  world,  and  it  has  always  been 
on  the  alert  to  do  everything  in  its  power  to 
strengthen  the  ties  that  bind  it  to  the  bishops 
and  clergy  of  the  different  nations  of  the  world. 

And  among  the  means  it  has  taken  to  cement 
this  union,  not  the  least  has  been  its  policy  of 
bringing  the  youth  of  the  different  nations  of 
the  world  here  to  Rome  to  be  educated  under 
its  own  supervision. 

Long  before  the  systematic  founding  of 
colleges  for  various  nations  such  as  we  have 
them   in   modern   times,    the   history    of   the 


After  Fifty  Years  313 

Church  shows  us  that  those  who  wished  to 
learn  what  was  the  teaching  of  the  Church 
came  here  to  learn  it  at  the  very  fountain- 
head. 

There  was  never  a  time  in  the  Church's  his- 
tory when  thousands  of  eager  students  were 
not  flocking  to  this  venerable  Center  of  Unity 
to  learn,  not  merely  the  teaching,  but  also  the 
practices  of  the  Roman  Church. 

Ireland,  England,  France,  and  Germany 
thus  kept  themselves  in  touch  with  Rome,  and 
w^hen  controversies,  especially  in  matters  of  dis- 
cipline, arose — such,  for  instance,  as  that 
famous  one  regarding  the  celebration  of  Easter 
— history  tells  us  that  they  were  finally  settled 
by  the  sending  of  scholars  from  the  different 
nations  to  find  out  exactly  what  Rome  did, 
who,  when  they  returned  to  their  homes,  finally 
succeeded  in  bringing  around  their  compatriots 
to  the  unity  of  practice  as  well  as  to  the  unity 
of  faith.  We  can  imagine  what  would  have 
been  eventually  the  diversity  and  the  conse- 
quent disunion  if  such  communication  between 
Rome  and  the  outer  world  had  not  existed. 


314.   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

What  wonder,  then,  that  the  Holy  See 
should  have  in  time  taken  steps  to  systematize 
this  intercommunication  by  founding  these 
many  colleges  which  we  see  existing  in  our  day, 
when  almost  every  nation  of  the  world  is  rep- 
resented by  the  youth  who  are  gathered  here 
to  absorb  the  practice  of  Rome,  and  give  out 
to  the  people  at  home  who  come  under  their 
influence  what  they  have  learned  here. 

Let  us  look  back  to  that  trying  time  in  the 
Church's  history  when  a  nation  was  lost  to  her, 
and  call  to  our  minds  the  achievements  of  the 
first  students  of  that  venerable  English  Col- 
lege, which  still  exists,  doing  its  good  work  for 
the  Church.  Its  martyrs  and  its  confessors 
came  here  to  be  fed  at  the  fountain-head,  and 
went  back  to  spend  their  lives  and  their  blood, 
to  keep  alive  the  connection  between  Rome  and 
England.  Let  us  try  to  imagine  what  would 
have  been  the  final  result,  sad  as  was  the  re- 
ality, if  there  had  been  no  such  outlet  for  the 
English  youth  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries. 

What  the  "Venerabile"  has  done  for  Eng- 


After  Fifty  Years  315 

land  has  been  done  for  Ireland  by  the  founda- 
tion of  Cardinal  Ludovisio,  and  by  the  Irish 
Franciscan  community  of  St.  Isidore,  the 
guiding  spirit  of  both  in  their  early  days  being 
Father  Luke  Wadding. 

What  is  true  of  these  is  true  also  of  Propa- 
ganda, and  the  German  College,  and  of  all  the 
other  national  colleges. 

What  an  inspiration  it  must  be  to  the  stu- 
dents of  these  older  colleges  to  be  reminded 
of  the  connection  with  their  institutions  of  such 
great  men  and  holy  men  as  Wadding,  and 
Oliver  Plunkett,  the  martyred  Archbishop  of 
Armagh,  and  Cardinal  Allen  and  Father  Par- 
sons, and  a  host  of  others  whose  names  will 
occur  to  them  when  they  study  the  history  of 
their  colleges  and  their  countries. 

And  may  not  we  also,  the  alumni  of  almost 
the  youngest  of  these  Roman  colleges,  look 
back  and  draw  inspiration  for  ourselves  from 
the  lives  and  doings  of  these  great  men?  We 
have  as  yet,  we  may  say,  no  history  of  our  own. 
We  are  the  makers  of  the  history  that  will  be 
written  in  this  college  in  the  years  to  come. 


316    History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

The  men  who  are  making  that  history  are  still 
amongst  us.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  of 
the  thirteen  youths  enrolled  as  the  first  stu- 
dents on  December  8, 1859,  four  are  still  living 
and  doing  their  work,  two  as  members  of  the 
Hierarchy,  one  as  a  diocesan  priest,  and  the 
fourth  as  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
and  one  of  these  venerable  prelates  is  present 
amongst  us  on  this  very  occasion  ;  and  of  those 
to  whom  from  time  to  time  has  been  entrusted 
the  guidance  and  the  government  of  the  Col- 
lege, one  only  has  God  called  out  of  this  world. 
All  the  others  are  still  with  us  as  members  of 
the  Hierarchy. 

Hence  it  is  that  I  say  that  we  still  stand  on 
the  threshold  of  our  history. 

JNIen  must  pass  away  from  our  midst  before 
we  begin  to  praise  them  and  extol  the  work 
that  they  are  doing.  And  amongst  the  num- 
bers of  alumni  of  this  College  who  are  spread 
over  the  face  of  our  beloved  country  are  men 
who  are  making  what  will  be  a  glorious  history 
when  their  works  come  to  be  known,  and  what 
we  read  of  the  achievements  of  the  great  men 


After  Fifty  Years  317 

of  kindred  institutions  will  in  due  course  be 
revealed  of  ours  who  are  working  quietly,  but 
working  nevertheless,  and  doing  good  work 
that  will  strengthen  and  solidify  the  Church 
of  God  in  the  United  States  of  America.  And 
the  time  will  come  when  the  names  of  these 
men  will  be  made  known  to  the  future  students 
of  this  our  Alma  Mater,  who  will  study  their 
works  and  draw  inspiration  from  their  lives, 
as  the  students  of  England  and  Ireland  and 
Germany  are  to-day  drawing  inspiration  from 
the  lives  of  their  great  ancestors  in  the  Faith. 
Whilst  we  are  not  old  enough  to  have  much 
history,  we  are  old  enough  to  have  traditions, 
and  they  are  traditions  of  which  already  we 
may  be  proud  and  which  we  hope  may  be 
handed  down  from  us  to  the  future  gen- 
erations of  students  who  will  have  to  take 
up  and  continue  the  work  that  we  are  now 
doing. 

Well  may  we  thank  the  Almighty  for  the 
great  favors  He  has  during  these  fifty  years 
showered  on  this  our  beloved  Alma  Mater,  and 
which  we  know  He  will  continue  to  bestow  if 


318   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

we  and  our  successors  are  true  to  Him  and 
true  to  ourselves. 

''Esto  perpetuar  May  she  continue  for  un- 
told centuries  to  do  the  good  work  of  spreading 
the  Faith  of  Christ  and  the  love  of  Rome 
among  the  people  of  the  United  States  of 
America. 

Close  of  the  American  College  Jubilee^ 

The  Golden  Jubilee  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can College  passed  into  history  last  Wednes- 
day evening  when  the  alumni,  past  and  pres- 
ent, archbishops,  bishops,  prelates,  priests,  and 
students  assembled  in  the  College  Church  to 
join  in  the  solemn  Te  Deum  and  to  assist  at 
the  Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
given  by  jNIgr.  Seton,  Archbishop  of  Heliopo- 
lis  and  one  of  the  thirteen  students  who  entered 
the  College  when  it  was  first  opened  fifty  years 
ago.  The  Jubilee  Feasts,  which  lasted  from 
Tuesday  morning  of  last  week  to  Wednesday 
evening  of  this  week,  were  so  solemn  and 
splendid  that  they  riveted  the  attention  of  all 

^Taken  from  "Rome,"  June  19,  1909. 


After  Fifty  Years  319 

Rome.  On  Saturday  afternoon  the  Church, 
transformed  for  the  occasion  into  a  beautiful 
hall,  was  thronged  with  a  great  audience  of 
Cardinals  (their  Eminences  Cardinals  Agli- 
ardi,  Satolli,  Cavicchioni,  and  Merry  del  Val 
were  among  those  present),  archbishops  and 
bishops,  including  His  Excellency,  the  Apos- 
tolic Delegate  to  the  United  States,  prelates, 
priests,  and  laity,  to  listen  to  a  program  which 
could  not  well  have  been  surpassed  in  interest. 
For  after  the  singing  of  the  beautiful  "Hymn 
to  the  Pope"  composed  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ganss 
and  written  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry,  and  the 
reading  of  an  exquisite  Latin  Carmen  com- 
posed for  the  jubilee  by  Mgr.  Angelini,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Briefs  to  Princes,  and  more 
singing  from  Verdi's  "Forza  del  Destino,"  the 
Rector  read  the  letter  addressed  to  him  by  the 
Holy  Father,  and  then  the  Cardinal  Secre- 
tary of  State,  to  the  surprise  and  delight 
of  all  present,  delivered  an  eloquent  address. 
That  event  was  not  on  the  program,  but 
how  highly  it  was  appreciated  might  have 
been  easily  estimated  by  the  applause  which 


320   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

punctuated  every  sentence,  especially  when 
the  Cardinal  asked  the  present  students  if 
he  could  not  appeal  to  them  for  a  testi- 
mony of  his  love  for  the  College.  Then 
there  was  a  solo  by  the  great  Moreschi  and  a 
quintette  by  five  of  the  best  voices  in  Rome, 
after  which  Archbishop  Farley  ascended  the 
platform  and  read  a  most  valuable  and  inter- 
esting paper  on  the  history  of  the  College,  of 
which  he  is  himself  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished sons.  Then  followed  another  solo 
from  "Mignon"  by  Professor  Bucchi;  and 
Mgr.  O'Connell,  Archbishop  of  Boston,  an- 
other illustrious  alumnus  and  Mgr.  Kennedy's 
predecessor  in  the  rectorship,  spoke  in  elo- 
quent Italian  on  "The  Influence  of  Rome  in 
the  Formation  of  the  American  Clergy." 
When  he  had  finished  the  evening  was  waxing 
late,  but  happily  there  was  still  time  for  two 
more  of  the  musical  items  of  the  program,  and 
for  Dr.  Pace's  brief  but  masterly  paper  on 
"The  College;  Its  Alumni."  The  subject  was 
to  have  been  treated  by  another  alumnus,'  who 

'Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Shahan,  Rector  of  the  Catholic  University 
pit  Washington,  D.  C. 


After  Fifty  Years  321 

was  unfortunately  prevented  by  illness  from 
coming  to  Rome,  and  it  was  only  at  the  last 
moment  that  the  honorable  duty  of  speaking 
on  the  spirit  of  the  College  devolved  on  the 
learned  Professor  of  Washington  University, 
who  is  such  a  credit  to  his  Alma  Mater. 

The  Fruits  of  Fifty  Years 
Dr.  Pace  also  designed  the  two  interesting 
charts  appended  to  the  program,  showing  at  a 
glance  how  the  College  flourished  under  the 
pontificates  of  Pius  IX,  Leo  XIII,  and 
Pius  X,  under  the  protectorates  of  Cardinals 
Barnabo,  Franchi,  Simeoni,  Ledochowski,  and 
Gotti,  and  under  its  nine  numbers  from  13 
to  150,  and  how  six  of  its  students  became 
archbishops,  eighteen  bishops,  and  523  priests, 
together  with  a  list  of  their  academical  degrees, 
including  in  Theology  157  doctors,  195  licenti- 
ates, 304  bachelors,  and  in  Philosophy  85  doc- 
tors, 75  licentiates,  and  107  bachelors. 

A  Day  in  the  Country 
Not  the  least  interesting  of  the  celebrations 
was  the  day  spent  last  Tuesday  in  the  hand- 


322    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

some  villa  of  the  College  at  Castel  Gandolfo, 
where  the  visitors  and  students  were  greeted 
on  their  arrival  by  the  strains  of  "The  S tar- 
Spangled  Banner"  played  by  the  local  band, 
which  accompanied  them  in  triumph  through 
the  spacious  grounds.     Here,  too,  there  were 
numerous  evidences  of  growth  and  prosperity, 
for  the  entrance  was  made  through  the  new 
wing  constructed  during  the  present  rector- 
ship, and  the  Alumni  Association  inaugurated 
a  new  hall  by  holding  their  annual  meeting 
and  electing  their  new  officers  in  it,  and  Mgr. 
Farley,  amid  great  applause,  inaugurated  (if 
that  is  the  correct  word)  the  new  baseball  field 
adjoining  the  grounds  by  pitching  the  first  ball 
in  a  match  between  the  Past  and   Present, 
wherein  the  Past  was  defeated  by  the  Present 
(which  was  in  accordance  with  the  symbohcal 
fitness  of  things),  but  not  disgraced,  while  the 
spectators  looked  on  from  under  the  shade  of 
pleasant  trees.    At  the  dinner  which  followed 
there  were  no  speeches,  but  the  Archbishop  of 
New  York  reminded  all  present  that  it  was  the 
eighth  anniversary  of  the  appointment  of  INIgr. 


After  Fifty  Years  323 

Kennedy  as  Rector  and  his  health  was  drunk 
with  musical  honors.  Mgr.  Rella  was  there, 
too,  and  toward  the  end  of  the  feast  took  a 
group  of  the  best  singers  of  the  College  to  the 
end  of  the  refectory,  where  they  sang  several 
pieces  with  the  verve  and  finish  he  has  suc- 
cessfully given  them,  and  Father  Joseph 
O'Keefe  of  Philadelphia,  famous  at  all  gath- 
erings of  old  alumni  for  his  beautiful  voice, 
struck  the  true  note  of  the  day  by  singing 
Moore's  "And  doth  not  a  meeting  like  this 
make  amends" — which  assuredly  it  did. 

Thus  the  first  Jubilee  closed  and  the  College 
entered  on  the  second  period  of  its  history.  It 
could  not  have  been  more  successful  or  more 
splendid,  and  the  congratulations  which  Mgr. 
Kennedy  received  from  the  Holy  Father  and 
from  all  the  visitors  must  have  repaid  him 
richly  for  his  labors  in  making  it  what  it  has 
been.  But  he  had  valued  assistance  in  Dr. 
Pace,  in  his  vice-Rector,  Dr.  O'Hern,  and  in 
Mgr.  Rella,  the  director  of  the  College  choir. 


324   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

The  Cardin^vl  Secretary  of  State  on 

THE   CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

(address  delivered  by  his  eminence  at  the 
jubilee  accademia,  june  12,  1909) 

Your   Eminences,    My   Lords,    Reverend 
Fathers,  and  Gentlemen  : 

It  seems  to  be  the  lot  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  to  be  often  placed  in  an  embarrassing 
position.  I  am  certainly  thus  situated  to-day, 
since  I  find  myself  called  upon  to  address  you 
on  this  memorable  occasion  and  before  such  a 
distinguished  gathering,  when  the  echoes  of  the 
eloquent  words  you  heard  on  Thursday  have 
scarcely  died  away.  I  sincerely  wish  that  the 
task  had  devolved  upon  one  of  the  senior  mem- 
bers of  the  Sacred  College,  and  there  are  sev- 
eral here  to-day  who  would  be  better  able  to 
accomplish  it.  But  I  have  a  message  entrusted 
to  me,  and  that  message  I  must  deliver;  it 
comes  to  you  from  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  from 
our  beloved  Holy  Father,  Pius  the  Tenth.  In 
his  love  for  this  College  and  for  America  he 


Copyright,  1900,  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  New  York. 

CARDINAL    RAPHAEL    MERRY    DEL    VAL,    SECRETARY    OF    STATE 
TO    POPE    PIUS    X. 


After  Fifty  Years  325 

could  not  wait  until  to-morrow,  when  you  will 
be  assembled  in  his  presence,  to  express  the 
deep  interest  he  has  taken  in  this  great  cele- 
bration, his  sympathy  for  the  College,  his  con- 
gratulations, and  his  fatherly  affection  for  its 
alumni,  past  and  present.  And  so  he  sends  his 
apostolic  benediction  to  all  and  bids  me  say 
that  he  is  with  you  in  spirit  at  this  festival  and 
that  he  is  sharing  your  joy  in  the  events  of 
these  days.  He  has  told  me  how  he  would  have 
wished  to  have  heard  the  warm-hearted  and 
eloquent  words  of  the  much-revered  Arch- 
bishop of  New  York,  and  to  have  listened  to 
the  telling  and  wise  remarks  which  came  to  us 
from  His  Grace  of  Boston,  not  to  mention  the 
memories  evoked  by  Bishop  Burke  and  Mgr. 
Falconio.  He  wished  the  alumni,  past  and 
present,  to  realize  that  they  are  not  alone  in 
their  labors  ;  to  remember  that  the  Holy  Father 
is  with  them  in  all  their  daily  efforts,  in  their 
struggles,  in  their  joys,  and  in  their  sorrows, 
whether  they  be  placed  in  exalted  positions  in 
the  hierarchy  or  whether  they  be  working  in 
humbler  paths  of  the  apostolic  ministry.     He 


326   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

wished  long  life  and  ever-increasing  prosperity 
to  the  American  College. 

As  to  my  own  sentiments,  they  can  not  be 
other  than  those  of  the  Holy  Father.  I  can 
not  claim  the  testimony  of  the  older  students 
of  fifty  years  ago,  indeed,  but  I  can  appeal  to 
the  students  of  to-day  to  acknowledge  my  love 
for  the  College  and  to  testify  that  I  am  their 
friend. 

As  I  listened  to  the  speakers  on  Thursday 
I  endeavored  to  find  an  explanation  for  what 
would  appear  to  be  what  I  would  call  a  kind 
of  natural  impulse  in  Americans  to  be  so  full 
of  love  and  loyalty  toward  the  Holy  See  and 
toward  the  Catholic  Church;  and  I  tried  to 
discover  a  reason  why  they  are  eagerly  prompt 
to  accept  the  decisions  of  the  Holy  Father, 
why  America  offers  so  rich  and  so  fertile  a  soil 
for  the  extension  of  the  Catholic  religion  and 
for  the  influence  of  Christ's  Church.  And  I 
think  that  I  have  found  an  answer.  It  is  for 
you  to  judge  whether  I  am  right.  I  am  speak- 
ing from  a  human  standpoint.  I  know  full 
well  that  the  great  progress  of  the  Catholic 


After  Fifty  Years  327 

Church  in  America  is  due  above  all  things  to 
divine  grace,  that  God  can  overcome  every  ob- 
stacle and,  if  necessary,  from  the  very  stones 
raise  up  children  to  Abraham.  I  know  how 
much  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  labors  and  en- 
lightened zeal  of  the  pastors  of  the  flock  in 
the  United  States,  to  the  energy  and  apostolic 
spirit  of  the  clergy,  to  the  initiative  and  devo- 
tion of  many  noble  members  of  the  laity.  But 
still,  considering  the  matter  in  a  different  way, 
is  not  another  explanation  of  this  progress  to 
be  found  in  one  of  the  prominent  features  of 
the  American  character?  It  strikes  me  that 
the  true  American  always  looks  for  the  best  in 
every  direction.  He  wants  what  is  thorough, 
what  is  true,  what  is  real,  and  just  as  he  seeks 
the  best  in  every  path  of  life,  in  commerce  and 
industry  and  practical  affairs,  so  when  he 
comes  to  consider  the  interests  of  his  immortal 
soul  and  his  eternal  salvation  he  wants  what 
is  genuine  and  true,  he  wants  the  best  again. 
He  seeks  for  a  faith  that  really  comes  from 
Heaven  and  somebody  who  can  unerringly 
communicate  that  faith  to  him.     He  is  not 


328   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

satisfied  with  mere  opinions  and  clever  theories, 
no  matter  how  respectable  those  opinions  and 
theories  may  be.  The  true  American  wants 
the  certainty  of  divine  faith  and  the  security 
of  a  teaching  that  is  really  supernatural  and 
a  safe  means  of  reaching  his  eternal  destiny. 
And  this  lie  finds  in  the  authoritative  and  in- 
fallible teaching  which  comes  from  the  See 
of  Peter,  from  the  Vicar  of  Christ  on  earth. 
He  seeks  for  virtue,  not  in  its  outward  appear- 
ances, but  real  and  solid  virtue  with  a  super- 
natural principle  and  a  supernatural  object. 
And  here  again  Rome,  with  centuries  at  her 
back,  shows  him  that  virtue  and  the  way  to 
practise  it.  The  American  requires  discipline 
and  an  authority  which  is  not  tyranny,  but 
compatible  with  legitimate  freedom,  whilst  able 
when  necessary  to  curb  and  quell  disorder. 
This,  too,  he  finds  in  the  Cathohc  Church. 
Hence  it  is  that  all  Americans  worthy  of  the 
name,  when  once  they  know  the  Church  as  she 
really  is  and  not  as  she  is  often  represented  to  be, 
are  naturally  inclined  to  love  the  Apostolic  See 
and  to  hold  themselves  faithful  and  loyal  to  it. 


After  Fifty  Years  329 

Long  may  this  College  prosper  for  many  a 
generation  to  come,  long  may  it  live  under  the 
wise  and  affectionate  rule  of  its  distinguished 
Rector,  Mgr.  Kennedy.  May  the  blessing  of 
God  rest  upon  America,  let  her  wealth  and  in- 
fluence flourish  for  all  that  is  right  and  good, 
and  may  the  high  place  which  she  holds  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth  to-day  be  the  emblem 
of  the  exalted  position  which  she  can  and 
should  occupy  in  the  eternal  Kingdom  of 
God/ 


^Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Kennedy's  address  delivered  at  the  Jubilee 
Accademia  has  been  already  given  in  the  preceding  chapter. 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN 
COLLEGE^ 

PAPER  READ  AT  THE  JUBILEE  ACCADEMIA, 
JUNE  12,  1909,  BY  THE 

Most  Rev.  Mgr.  John  M,  Farley,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  New  York 

"Erit  tanquam  lignum  quod  piantatura  est  secus  decursus 
aquarum,  quod  fructum  suum  dabit  in  tempore  suo"  (Ps.  i.  3). 

rilHE  stately  tree  under  whose  refreshing 
shade  we  repose  to-day  and  whose  conse- 
crated fruit  has  for  fifty  years  been  feeding  the 
Master's  flock  unto  salvation  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  our  beloved  country  has 
a  history  of  centuries  which  it  may  not  be  out 
of  place  briefly  to  recall  on  this  eventful 
occasion  and  in  this  distinguished  presence. 

We  can  not,  it  is  true,  claim  to  be  identified 
with  this  venerable  pile  directly  from  its  foun- 
dation save  by  divine  destiny  ;  ab  initio  ordinata 
sum. 

The  American  College  building,  which  now 
embraces  the  entire  block  from  the  Via  dell' 

^Taken  from  "Rome,"  June  26,  1909. 
330 


After  Fifty  Years  331 

Umiltà  to  the  Piazza  della  Piletta,  was  erected 
in  1603  by  the  piety  of  Dona  Francesca  Bag- 
lioni  Orsini,  of  the  same  family,  by  a  singular 
coincidence,  which  erected  the  Villa  Caterina, 
the  College  country  home. 

This  noble  lady  gave  the  property  to  the 
Dominican  Sisters,  and  spent  the  remainder  of 
her  life  as  a  lady  benefactress  within  the  con- 
vent enclosure. 

The  Sisters  lived  here  until  the  dissolution 
of  the  religious  orders  during  the  French 
Revolution. 

When  peace  was  restored  under  Pius  VII, 
the  Visitation  Nuns  acquired  the  property,  and 
dwelt  here  in  peace  until  they,  in  turn,  were 
driven  forth  by  the  Revolution  of  1848. 

In  1858  Pius  IX  purchased  the  premises, 
and  made  a  gift  of  one-half  the  block  to  the 
American  bishops  in  perpetuum  for  the  educa- 
tion of  priests  for  the  American  mission;  the 
title  of  the  property,  however,  being  vested  in 
the  Propaganda. 

For  a  time,  in  the  early  60's,  that  portion 
of  the  block  facing  Piazza  Pilotta  was  occupied 


332   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

by  the  Pontifical  Zouaves.  Subsequently  it 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  "Banca  d'Italia," 
from  which  it  was  bought  by  the  present 
Rector  in  1901  for  $50,000,  one-half  of  which 
sum  was  generously  subscribed  by  the  alumni 
of  the  College. 

The  origin  and  growth  of  the  idea  of  an 
American  College  in  Rome  has  been  a  subject 
of  kindly  controversj"  amongst  the  friends  of 
the  institution,  although  we  are  only  fifty  years 
old.    Such  is  history. 

It  is  past  all  question,  however,  that  to 
Pius  IX,  of  blessed  memory,  above  all  others, 
is  the  Church  in  the  United  States  indebted  for 
tliis  most  important  element  in  the  progress  of 
our  holy  faith  in  the  United  States. 

As  far  as  the  writer  has  been  able  to  learn, 
after  diligent  research,  the  first  Roman  refer- 
ence to  an  American  College  occurs  in  the 
answer  of  Pius  IX^  to  the  letter  of  the  bishops 
composing  the  First  Provincial  Council  of 
New  York."  Certain  it  is  that  Archbishop 
Hughes  threw  his  whole  heart  into  the  project, 

^January  1,  1855. 
^Held  Oct.  1-8,  1854. 


After  Fifty  Years  333 

as  was  his  wont  when  he  espoused  any  cause. 
The  measure  of  his  appreciation  of  the  pro- 
posed institution  may  be  taken  from  his  letter 
to  Dr.  Bernard  Smith,  O.S.B.,  August  12, 
1858:  "I  rejoice  in  the  prospect  of  the  Ameri- 
can College.  ...  As  soon  as  possible  I  shall 
write  out  my  reflections  in  regard  to  it,  which 
I  think  is,  by  all  odds,  the  most  important 
measure  that  has  been  adopted  since  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  first  Catholic  bishop  in  the 
United  States  ;  and  I  think  that  its  importance 
in  all  its  bearings  will  require  a  good  deal  of 
foresight  and  caution  in  its  organization." 

We  of  a  later  generation  can  form  a  fair 
judgment  of  the  truth  of  this  prophecy  of  the 
far-sighted  prelate  in  regard  to  an  institution 
"that  has  done  so  much,  for  half  a  century,  to 
preserve  and  maintain  unity  between  the 
See  of  Peter  and  the  Church  in  the  United 
States." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  important 
part  taken  by  Mgr.  Bedini  (afterward  Car- 
dinal) in  the  birth  and  growth  of  the  .College. 
He    had    visited    the    States    as    Apostolic 


334   History  of  the  American  College.Bome 

Pro-Xuncio  in  1853,  and  conceived  an  affection 
for  the  land,  and  ever  afterward  he  predicted 
a  glorious  future  for  the  American  Church. 
In  order  to  hasten  this  consummation  the 
great-hearted  prelate,  immediately  after  his  re- 
turn to  Rome,  had  urged  upon  Pius  IX  the 
establishment  of  a  Pontifical  American  Col- 
lege, which,  as  he  fondly  believed,  would  end 
in  the  perpetuation  of  a  truly  Roman  spirit 
among  the  clergy  of  the  United  States.  The 
writer  from  whom  I  culled  the  above  facts 
adds:  "Pio  IX  welcomed  this  suggestion,  and 
to  no  man  so  much  as  to  Mgr.  Redini  was  the 
actuation  of  the  project  due."  (Dr.  Parsons.) 

The  author  of  the  article  in  the  first  volume 
of  the  Catholic  Encyclopedia  (Dr.  Rrann) 
takes  the  position  that  Archbishops  Hughes  of 
New  York  and  Kenrick  of  Raltimore  were  the 
leading  spirits  in  supporting  the  idea  of  Pius 
IX  for  the  founding  of  an  American  College. 

In  1854  the  American  bishops  present  at  the 
declaration  of  the  dogma  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  expressed  to  the  Vicar  of  Christ, 
Pius  IX,  a  wish  that  such  a  college  be  founded 


After  Fifty  Years  335 

and  take  rank  with  the  other  national  col- 
leges. 

The  encouragement  met  with  from  the  Sov- 
ereign Pontiff  on  this  occasion  eventuated  the 
following  year  in  a  resolution  passed  in  the 
Eighth  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore,  held 
May,  1855,  appointing  a  committee  of  three 
to  report  on  the  subject  of  such  an  institution 
in  Rome.  Bishops  O'Connor  of  Pittsburg, 
Neumann  of  Philadelphia,  and  Dr.  Lynch, 
Administrator  of  Charleston,  were  named. 

This  was  the  final  impulse  which  sent  the 
idea  of  an  American  College  into  every  congre- 
gation in  the  country  and  aroused  enthusiasm 
everj^where.  In  his  circular  to  his  clergy  the 
Archbishop  of  New  York  writes,  appealing  for 
the  necessary  funds,  December  2,  1858: 

"What  would  have  become,  according  to  all 
human  views,  of  the  Church  of  God  in  various 
countries,  if,  in  their  day,  our  glorious  an- 
cestors had  not  provided  for  the  training  of 
priests  in  different  countries  of  Europe;  but 
especially  at  the  very  fountain  of  Catholic  life 
itself    {''Quella   Roma   onde   Cristo   é   Ro- 


336   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

mano")  ?  If  the  lamp  of  faith  has  been  kept 
unextinguished  during  three  hundred  years  of 
persecution  by  the  powers  of  the  largest  em- 
pires of  the  world,  we  are  indebted,  according 
to  human  appearance,  to  the  colleges,  English, 
Irish,  and  Scotch,  which  our  ancestors  founded 
many  centuries  ago,  either  in  Spain,  France, 
Belgium,  Germany,  Italy,  or  other  Catholic 
countries  of  Europe. 

*'From  these  seminaries  came  forth,  in  the 
darkest  hours  of  persecution,  those  great, 
learned,  and  holy  men  who  have  sustained  and 
adorned  the  Church  of  Christ.  Even  at  the 
present  day  all  Catholics  with  unanimous  ac- 
cord recognize  their  obligation  to  that  wise  and 
charitable  foresight  of  our  ancestors  in  estab- 
lishing colleges,  and  especially  in  Rome,  for 
the  education  of  a  future  holy  and  enlightened 
priesthood." 

Such  is  the  genesis  of  the  American  College 
idea. 

THE  RAISING  OF  FUNDS  FOR  THE  WORK 

Funds  for  the  execution  of  the  great  project 
now  had  to  be  supplied,  and  to  appreciate  what 


After  Fifty  Years  337 

was  done  by  the  struggling  young  Church  in 
the  States  we  should  bear  in  mind  that  fifty 
years  ago  we  were  even  in  New  York  appeal- 
ing for  and  receiving  aid  from  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Faith  at  Lyons  (to  which  New 
York  was  able  to  send  last  year  $70,000,  thank 
God). 

Pius  IX  had  purchased,  at  a  cost  of  $42,000, 
as  already  recited,  the  building  and  placed  it  at 
our  disposal. 

The  prelates  of  America  were  not  to  be  out- 
done by  the  great-hearted  Pontiff  in  gener- 
osity, and  collections  were  taken  up  in  several 
of  the  dioceses  for  the  purpose  of  fitting  the 
Via  deir  Umiltà  end  of  the  block  for  the  use  of 
students  and  meeting  other  needed  expenses. 

The  province  of  New  York,  in  response  to 
the  appeal  of  the  Archbishop  above  quoted, 
contributed  $20,000,  and  other  provinces  of  the 
country  their  quota,  making  in  the  aggregate 
$50,000. 

It  is  well  to  emphasize  the  fact  here  that 
this  was  not  to  pay  for  the  building,  but  only 
to  equip  it. 


338    History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

THE  FORMAL  OPENING  OF  THE  COLLEGE 

We  now  come  to  the  event  in  the  College 
history  which  is  of  more  concrete  interest  to 
us  its  children. 

It  was  opened  December  8,  1859,  by  Car- 
dinal Barnabo,  Prefect  of  the  Propaganda, 
accompanied  by  Mgr.  Bedini,  Secretary  of  the 
Congregation,  and  thirteen  students  (Mc- 
Glynn,  Seton,  and  Parsons  of  New  York; 
Meriwether  of  Charleston;  Biordan  of  Chi- 
cago; Corrigan  of  Newark;  Poole  of  Savan- 
nah; C.  Northrop  of  Charleston;  O'Neil  of 
Albany;  Zingsheim  of  Alton;  Gibney  and 
Cassidy  of  San  Francisco;  the  first  four  had 
already  been  students  in  the  Propaganda  or 
other  seminaries — the  rest  were  entering  a  sem- 
inary for  the  first  time) . 

The  functions  of  acting  Bector  were  dis- 
charged by  Dr.  Bernard  Smith,  O.S.B.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Dogmatic  Theology  in  the  Propa- 
ganda, until  the  arrival  of  Bev.  Dr.  William 
IMcCloskey  of  New  York,  March  3,  1860. 

"The  entrance,"  writes  one  of  the  first 
thirteen,  "into  their  new  habitation  was  appro- 


After  Fifty  Years  339 

priately  made  over  the  threshold  of  the  Church 
of  the  College,  that  little  gem  of  a  sanctuary 
which  for  centuries  the  Romans  have  known  as 
the  venerable  church  dell'  Umiltà.'  His  Em- 
inence the  Cardinal  Prefect,  seated  on  a  throne 
at  the  epistle  side  of  the  high  altar,  at  once 
announced  that  another  was  then  added  to  the 
list  of  Pontifical  Colleges.  The  Litany  of  the 
Saints  was  chanted  by  the  Choir  of  the  Propa- 
ganda. Cardinal  Barnabo  pronounced  a  dis- 
course which  was  couched  in  terms  of  the  usual 
Roman  simplicity.  Benediction  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  terminated  the  memorable  func- 
tion, and  the  Collegio  Americano  del  Nord 
entered  on  a  career  which  has  brought  so  much 
glory  to  God  and  salvation  to  so  many  souls 
during  those  fifty  years." 

The  inauguration  was  simple,  it  is  true,  and 
humble,  but  the  Pontiff  of  the  big  heart,  the 
child  of  whose  hopes  it  was,  would  set  a  seal 
upon  its  beginning  which  would  give  it  eclat 
equal  to  any  of  its  fellow  foreign  colleges  in 
the  Holy  City. 

On  the  feast  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  Jan- 


340   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

uary  29,  1860,  His  Holiness  was  pleased  to 
visit  the  young  College  in  grand  gala,  where  he 
offered  up  the  Holy  Sacrifice  in  its  beautiful 
church.  To  commemorate  the  event  a  tablet 
.  .  .  was  put  up.  The  American  episcopate 
was  represented  on  the  occasion  by  Bishop 
Bacon  of  Portland,  who  delivered  an  address 
of  thanks  to  His  Holiness,  to  which  the  Pope 
replying  said,  that  "the  chief  energies  of  a  suc- 
cessor of  St.  Peter  had  ever  been  directed 
toward  the  propagation  and  the  preservation 
of  the  Faith  in  every  part  of  the  world,  and 
that  his  predecessors  had  ever  thought  that  the 
great  end  could  be  furthered  by  no  means  so 
efficacious  as  the  creation  of  Roman  colleges 
for  all  the  ethnological  and  linguistic  families 
which  form  the  Cathohc  Church." 

THREATENED  FAILURE  FOR  WANT  OF  FUNDS 

But  the  young  institution  so  auspiciously 
begun  was,  within  seven  years,  threatened  with 
financial  disaster.  What  the  cause  of  this  was 
is  not  far  to  seek.  No  endowments  had  been 
provided.    The  College  was  dependent  for  its 


After  Fifty  Years  341 

entire  support  on  the  pensions  paid  by  the 
bishops  or  by  the  individual  students.  The 
bishops  at  that  time,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind, 
were  poor;  and  to  pay  the  traveling  expenses 
of  a  student  to  and  from  Rome,  as  well  as  his 
pension,  was  a  drain  on  the  diocesan  resources 
which  few  bishops  could  afford.  Some  stu- 
dents defrayed  all  these  from  their  private 
funds,  but  these  were  few.  Hence  the  total 
number  was  always  below  what  is  required  for 
the  successful  maintenance  of  any  institution 
dependent  solely  on  personal  pensions. 

The  writer  recalls  that  at  his  entrance  in 
1866  there  were  only  twentjT-.eight  students. 

Accordingly  the  Rector,  Dr.  McCloskey, 
appeared  before  the  prelates  of  the  country, 
then  in  session  at  the  Second  Plenary  Council 
of  Baltimore  in  1866,  to  plead  more  active  in- 
terest in  the  College  on  the  part  of  the  Cath- 
olics of  the  United  States.  As  a  result.  Arch- 
bishop Spalding  of  Baltimore  and  Bishop 
Wood  of  Philadelphia  issued  a  joint  appeal 
to  the  prelates  of  the  country  to  come  to  the 
rescue.  .   .   . 


342    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

The  Rev.  George  H.  Doane,  Chancellor  of 
the  Diocese  of  Newark,  was  chosen  to  carry 
into  effect  the  plan  outlined  in  the  circular. 
Within  a  year  Father  Doane's  efforts  were 
crowned  with  singular  success.  Archbishop 
Corrigan,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen, 
dated  March  4, 1884,  gives  $150,000  as  a  result 
of  the  collection,  which  included  the  endow- 
ment of  several  burses,  and  other  large  con- 
tributions. 

The  memory  of  JMgr.  Doane  should  be  dear 
to  every  student  of  the  College.  When  he 
visited  us  in  1868  the  students  presented  him 
with  an  engrossed  address  and  a  set  of  gold 
oilstocks  and  a  gold  pyx  as  a  small  token  of 
their  appreciation. 

This  collection,  it  would  seem,  should  have 
placed  the  College  beyond  the  need  of  further 
appeals.  But  it  became  necessary  in  1877  for 
the  then  Rector  (Dr.  Chatard)  to  canvass 
many  of  the  dioceses  of  the  States  for  aid  for 
the  College,  which  each  year  showed  an  in- 
creasing deficit  on  its  ledgers.  He  met  with 
considerable  success. 


After  Fifty  Years  343 

THREATENED     CONFISCATION     OF     COLLEGE     BY 
ITALIAN  GOVERNMENT 

The  next  trial  which  came  upon  our 
Alma  Mater  was  more  grave  than  any 
peril  which  had  yet  threatened  it.  It  came 
from  the  politico-religious  condition  of 
Italy. 

In  March,  1884,  a  cablegram  from  Rome, 
received  by  Cardinal  McCloskey,  informed 
his  Eminence  that  the  sale  of  the  College 
property  by  the  Italian  Government  was 
imminent.  Briefly  it  came  about  in  this 
way: 

"The  law  of  1866  compelled  the  sale  of 
Church  property  held  in  mortmain  throughout 
Italy.  The  law  of  1873  was  an  application  of 
the  law  of  1866  to  the  city  of  Rome;  its  effect 
was  to  force  the  conversion  of  ecclesiastical 
property  into  securities  of  the  Italian  Govern- 
ment known  as  rentes.  The  Propaganda,  of 
which  the  American  College  was  a  dependency, 
had  contested  the  application  for  ten  years  in 
the  courts"  until  in  February,  1884,  "the  Court 
of  Cassation,  the  tribunal  of  final  appeal,  ren- 


344   History  of  the  American  College,  Rome 

dered  a  decision  that  the  property  of  the  Prop- 
aganda should  be  sold."^ 

When  the  cable  despatch  arrived,  March  3, 
1884,  President  Arthur  happened  to  be  in  New 
York.  At  the  desire  of  Cardinal  McCloskey 
I  accompanied,  as  Secretary  to  His  Eminence, 
and  as  being  personally  acquainted  with  Gen- 
eral Arthur,  Coadjutor- Archbishop  Corrigan 
for  the  purpose  of  calling  on  the  President  in 
the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel.  His  Excellency  re- 
ceived us  most  kindly,  and  after  hearing  from 
the  Archbishop  the  statement  of  the  case,  prom- 
ised to  do  all  in  his  power  to  save  the  College. 

The  same  day  His  Eminence  addressed  to 
the  President  a  letter  praying  for  Government 
interference.^  This  letter  was  the  &st  of  a 
series  of  eighteen  communications  on  the  sub- 
ject between  Cardinal  McCloskey,  represented 
by  Archbishop  Corrigan,  President  Arthur, 
Mr.  Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  Secretary  of 
State,  and  j\Ir.  William  Waldorf  Astor, 
American  Minister  at  Rome.    All  this  corre- 

^Extract  from  the  letter  from  the  American  Minister  to 
Rome  to  the  Secretary  of  State.    March  15,  1884. 

^This  letter  is  given,  with  the  other  correspondence  on  the 
subject,  in  Chapter  VI  of  this  History. 


After  Fifty  Years  345 

spondence  was  made  the  subject  of  a  Presi- 
dential message  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, Forty-eighth  Congress. 

The  prompt  and  friendly  action  of  our  Gov- 
ernment in  the  matter  will  ever  be  borne  in 
grateful  remembrance  by  the  American  Hier- 
archy. The  first  appeal  to  the  President  was 
received  by  him  on  March  4th;  on  March  29th 
the  cause  was  won.  .  .  .  Thus  passed  away  the 
darkest  cloud  that  had  hung  over  our  beloved 
Alma  Mater,  and  I  trust  it  will  be  the  last. 

It  is  a  matter  for  congratulation  that  one  of 
the  first  and  the  most  distinguished  of  her 
alumni  was  so  largely  instrumental  in  bringing 
to  a  happy  conclusion  this  crisis  of  the  College, 
my  illustrious  predecessor,  Archbishop  Corri- 
gan,  acting  for  and  in  the  name  of  his  eminent 
chief,  Cardinal  McCloskey. 

RAISED  TO  THE  DIGNITY  OF  A  PONTIFICAL 
COLLEGE 

From  this  time  forward  the  courses  of  events 

in  the  College  history  began  to  run  smoothly. 

By  the  Brief  Ubi  primam,  October  25, 1884, 


346   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

Leo  XIII  raised  the  American  College  to  the 
dignity  of  a  Pontifical  College. 

The  number  of  its  students,  which  had  run 
as  low  as  fifteen  at  one  time,  began  to  increase 
steadily  until  to-day  they  count  one  hundred 
and  thirty-two,  and  enjoy  the  prestige  of  being 
the  largest  foreign  college  in  the  Eternal  City, 
and  stand  second  to  none,  if  not  leaders, 
amongst  Roman  colleges  in  scholarship. 

THE  COLLEGE  INCORPORATED 

That  the  institution  might  legally  inherit, 
sue,  and  be  sued,  etc.,  it  was  incorporated, 
March  18,  1886,  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
Baltimore  of  the  State  of  Maryland  ;  the  legal 
title  of  the  College  being  "The  American  Col- 
lege of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  the 
United  States."  The  incorporators  were 
James  Gibbons,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore; 
Patrick  J.  Ryan,  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia; 
]\Iichael  A.  Oorrigan,  Archbishop  of  New 
York;  and  John  J.  Williams,  Archbishop  of 
Boston. 

The  act  of  incorporation  recites  at  length  all 


After  Fifty  Years  347 

the  rights,  privileges,  duties,  objects,  etc.,  of 
the  College. 

THE  RECTORS  OF  THE  COLLEGE 

In  the  half  century  of  its  existence  the  insti- 
tution has  had  six  Rectors,  all  of  whom  are 
still  living,  except  one,  the  lamented  Mgr. 
Hostlot. 

No  better  evidence  of  the  efficiency  of  this 
generatio  Rectorum,  of  whom  we  gladly  say 
henedicetur,  need  be  sought  than  the  fact  that 
all  five  have  been  raised  to  the  episcopal  rank; 
four  of  them  ruling  over  flourishing  dioceses, 
the  last  but  not  the  least  holding  with  firm 
hand  the  helm  of  what  Archbishop  Hughes 
called  the  most  important  element  in  the  prog- 
ress of  the  Church  since  the  appointment  of  the 
first  bishop  of  the  United  States. 

Each  of  his  predecessors  has  left  some  more 
or  less  permanent  mark  of  his  administration 
on  the  institution. 

The  third  Rector  purchased  the  first  villa 
owned  by  the  College,  which  was  afterward 
sold  by  his  successor,  Mgr.  William  O'Connell, 


348   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

who  purchased  the  splendid  country  home,  the 
Villa  Caterina  at  Castel  Gandolfo. 

But  no  one  will  question  the  fact  that  with 
the  present  energetic  Rector,  Bishop  Kennedy, 
began  the  second  spring  of  our  Alma  Mater. 

Without  his  action  in  securing  the  Piazza 
Piletta  portion  of  the  premises  it  would  have 
been  impossible  to  house  even  half  the  number 
of  students  now  within  its  walls. 

Not  only  has  he  extended  the  College  ac- 
commodations, but  he  has  done  what  was  no 
less  needful  in  enlarging  the  villa  to  double  its 
original  capacity,  and  adding  a  beautiful 
chapel  and  hall. 

He  has,  besides,  secured  by  his  own  unaided 
efforts  a  fund  of  $100,000,  which  is  now  safely 
invested,  as  the  Kennedy  Building  Fund,  for  a 
future  new  College. 

This,  with  the  funds  in  the  hands  of  the 
treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  places  the 
institution  on  a  sound  financial  basis. 

Thus  has  the  long  winter  of  discontent 
passed  away,  and  the  spring  that  so  auspi- 
ciously dawned  five  years  ago  is  fast  ripening 


After  Fifty  Years  349 

into  a  perfect  and,  let  us  hope,  a  perpetual 
summer  for  our  beloved  Alma  Mater. 

One  word  in  conclusion  to  my  young  friends, 
the  present  students  of  the  College. 

Of  the  764  men  who  have  entered  these  hal- 
lowed precincts,  523,  or  68.5  per  cent.,  have 
passed  out  of  its  portals  as  priests  of  the  living 
God;  six  of  whom  became  archbishops  and 
eighteen  became  bishops.  Of  all  these,  so  far 
as  I  know,  not  one  has  ever  forgotten  the  loy- 
alty learned  here  as  due  to  the  See  of  Peter. 
They  have  had  their  trials,  but  like  well-discip- 
lined soldiers  they  have  gone  wherever  their 
generals  ordered  them,  many  to  far-off  regions, 
to  become  pathfinders  for  the  Faith,  to  distant 
outposts  of  civilization,  exposed  to  temptations 
such  as  only  the  priesthood  knows,  often  with 
no  eye  but  God's  to  see  them,  no  voice  but 
God's  to  cheer  them,  no  hand  but  God's  to 
stay  them,  fighting  as  brave  men  fight  for  their 
very  lives,  to  keep  the  Faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints.  And  when  the  end  was  come,  and 
the  word  was  passed  to  change  the  guard,  their 
Captain,  Christ,  found  them  wounded,  per- 


350   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

haps,  and  gory,  but  their  honor  white,  their 
faith  and  their  flag  triumphant,  and  their  souls 
safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus  for  evermore. 

My  young  friends,  may  a  like  record  be 
yours  at  the  close  of  the  next  fifty  years. 

THE   INFLUENCE   OF  ROME' 

in  the  formation  of  the  american  clergy 

By  Mgr.  William  O'Connell, 

Archbishop  of  Boston 

paper  read  at  the  jubilee  acidemia  of  the 

american  college,  june  12,  1909 

translated  from  the  italian 

"Sanctificabisque     annum    quinquagesimum  .    .   .  ipse    est 
enim  Jubileus"  {Lev.  xxv.  10). 

A  GES  of  glory  enfold  the  city  of  Rome  in  a 
splendor  of  greatness  and  magnificence. 
Its  monuments,  the  expression  of  human 
genius,  are  not  of  j^esterday  ;  their  genial  crea- 
tion and  daring  erection  is  lost  almost  in  the 
twilight  of  civilization. 

To  celebrate  a  cinquantenary  in  Rome,  then, 
seems  a  very  modest  task.    What,  indeed,  are 

'Printed  in  "Rome"  July  3  and  10,  1909. 


Most  Rev.   Willia:\i  H.    O'Connell,   D.D. 
Archbishop  of  Boston,  a  former  Rector  of  the  College 


After  Fifty  Years  351 

jfifty  years  in  the  face  of  the  centuries  of  great- 
ness which  Rome  boasts?  But  if  fifty  years 
constitute  a  very  brief  period  in  the  history  of 
the  Eternal  City,  yet  they  rise  to  the  operative 
fecundity  of  centuries  by  reason  of  the  sub- 
limity of  their  meaning;  and  in  the  name  and 
in  the  glory  of  this  signification  a  brief  cycle 
of  years,  even  a  cinquantenary,  may  well  be 
celebrated  even  in  Rome. 

It  is  with  this  idea  that  we  have  solemnly 
gathered  to  celebrate  the  foundation  of  our 
College  in  Rome,  to  examine  and  make  known 
the  deeps  and  the  heights  of  its  meaning. 

What  concept,  ideal,  scope,  inspired  and 
guided  the  Pontiff  in  the  erection  of  this  Col- 
lege for  the  welfare  of  America,  for  the  glory 
of  Rome? 

We  can  at  once  discern  in  this  generous  act, 
in  this  noble  deed  of  the  Pontiff,  the  instinct 
of  maternal  love,  which  Rome — established  as 
center,  heart,  and  life  of  the  Catholic  world — 
feels  for  all  nations.  When  Jesus  Christ  con- 
ferred on  Rome,  in  the  supernatural  order, 
supremacy  over  all  the  peoples  of  the  whole 


352   History  of  the  A  merican  College^  Rome 

world,  He  created  and  developed  in  her  heart 
the  flame  of  maternal  love. 

The  mother,  throbbing  with  ardent  love, 
watches  over  her  children  from  the  first  mo- 
ment they  smile  at  the  light.  She  continues 
her  work  of  maternity,  giving  the  child  for 
nutriment  her  own  blood  under  the  form  of 
milk,  thus  communicating  to  it  something  of 
her  own  substance.  She  follows  with  an  eye 
of  love  the  development,  growth,  strengthen- 
ing of  every  single  part  of  the  little  body,  re- 
joicing immensely  and  finding  her  joy  therein. 
She  trains  her  child  to  take  its  first  steps,  sup- 
ports it  with  her  hands  lest  it  fall,  teaches  it 
to  walk  erect  and  easily.  Thus  Rome — most 
loving  mother  of  all  the  faithful — makes  pro- 
vision for  the  welfare  of  her  children  immedi- 
ately they  are  born  to  the  life  of  grace;  feeds 
them  providently  with  the  milk  of  faith; 
teaches  them  to  walk  in  the  right  way,  supports 
them  and  guides  them  ;  loosens  their  tongue  to 
the  language  of  heaven;  delights  in  their  spir- 
itual progress;  puts  before  the  eyes  of  their 
soul    the    divine    Model,    Jesus    Christ,    and 


After  Fifty  Years  353 

teaches  word  for  word  the  good  tidings,  the 
heavenly  message,  left  as  a  sacred  heritage  to 
the  nations,  and  which  is  to  guide  them  to  the 
attainment  of  the  full  maturity  of  their  forces. 

Let  us  take  a  glance  at  the  civilized  nations 
which  are  called  and  may  be  called  Christian. 
To  whom  do  they  owe  those  principles  of  law, 
those  concepts  of  order,  which  form  the  foun- 
dation of  their  constitution  and  life,  which 
mold  and  summarize  all  their  origin?  They 
knew  naught  of  the  benefits  and  splendors 
of  civilization;  they  had  no  understanding 
of  a  society  bound  together  by  common  ties; 
they  were  ignorant  of  the  secret  of  organiza- 
tion. 

It  was  the  missionaries  who,  in  the  name  of 
Rome,  caused  the  sun  of  civilization  to  shine 
upon  them,  who  made  the  Christian  moral  vir- 
tues, the  elements  of  greatness  and  strength, 
spring  and  blossom  among  them.  It  was  the 
holy  monks,  with  their  institution  of  the  re- 
ligious community,  who  taught  them  the 
method  of  government.  It  was  the  bishops 
and  the  abbots  who  revealed  to  warriors  and 


354    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

conquerors  the  secret  of  founding  a  civilized 
state. 

It  may  be  affirmed,  without  fear  of  contra- 
diction, that  the  nations  who  glory  in  their 
energies  and  in  their  power,  in  as  far  as  these 
forces  are  the  result  of  ethical  law  and  moral 
principles,  owe  their  civilization,  their  power, 
and  their  glory  solely  to  the  Church,  to  the 
Rome  of  the  Popes.  But  the  nations  have 
not  always  repaid  with  gratitude  the  benefits 
they  have  received — immense,  inestimable 
benefits  ! 

Thus,  when  in  the  sixteenth  century  insur- 
rection broke  forth  and  raged  in  the  religious 
field — an  insurrection  which  was  foolishly 
called  reformation  and  which  was  a  deep 
wound  in  the  heart  of  civilization — some  of 
these  nations  rebelled  against  their  mother, 
Rome;  against  her  who  had  watched  their 
cradle,  who  had  taken  them  lovingly  to  her 
bosom  and  put  them  on  the  way  of  civilized 
life,  progress,  and  social  prosperity. 

Rome,  to  her  immense  sorrow,  saw  her  chil- 
dren torn  from  her  side  by  milHons.     As  a 


After  Fifty  Years  355 

mother  she  weeps.  But  God  is  to  console  her; 
God  wipes  away  her  tears. 

Who  is  this  with  his  fragile  wooden  bark 
plowing  for  the  first  time  a  never-plowed 
ocean,  exploring  amid  endless  perils  new  coasts 
and  unknown  shores,  searching  daringly  for 
new  lands  and  new  skies?  It  is  a  great  Italian, 
on  whose  brow  shines  the  light  of  faith  and  of 
science.  It  is  Christopher  Columbus,  who  goes 
to  discover  and  does  discover  a  new  world. 
And  this  new  world  is  to  be  conquered  by  the 
Faith;  and  this  conquest  is  to  be  for  the  Church 
a  large  recompense  for  the  children  of  whom 
she  has  been  orphaned,  of  all  she  has  lost  in 
the  Old  World;  nay,  it  is  to  be  a  gain  surpass- 
ing by  far  the  loss  she  has  undergone. 

In  the  new  land,  under  the  new  sky,  many 
are  the  souls  that  are  born  again  to  the  life 
of  grace  ;  many  the  children  who  call  the  Cath- 
olic Church  by  the  sweet  name  of  mother.  It 
is  a  fervid  and  rapid  crescendo  of  love  and 
faith  for  Rome;  a  road  leading  to  Rome 
through  the  centuries. 

But  in  the  nineteenth  century  the  Catholic 


356   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

religion  spreads  to  every  corner  of  America; 
it  flies  from  victory  to  victory,  from  triumph 
to  triumph  ;  it  gathers  under  the  shadow  of  the 
victorious  standard  of  the  Cross  armies  of 
souls.  The  development  of  Catholicism  in 
America  during  the  last  century  is  prodigious 
and  marks  a  glorious  age  in  the  liistory  of  the 
Church. 

Who  can  fail  to  see  in  this  fact  the  fulfilment 
of  the  prophecy  of  Jesus  Christ — "Portce  In- 
feri non  'prcevalehuntf 

The  New  World  once  opened,  numerous 
children  of  the  European  nations  cross  the 
ocean  and  touch  the  distant  shores  of  America 
in  the  hope  of  finding  there  what  they  have 
failed  to  find  at  home.  Waves  of  men  run  on 
the  waves  of  the  ocean  and  hurl  themselves  on 
American  soil.  And  this  wave  of  emigration, 
continuous,  overflowing,  in  the  course  of  a  cen- 
tury has  made  our  nation  great  until  it  has  now 
taken  the  place  that  belongs  to  it. 

In  the  beginning  the  Catholics  belonged  to 
the  needy  ranks  of  the  poor;  because  they  had 
been  driven  by  the  hard  conditions  of  misery 


After  Fifty  Years  357 

to  become  exiles  and  try  the  enigma  of  emigra- 
tion; but  if  they  were  poor,  they  were  coura- 
geous, strong  and  lusty  laborers  ;  because  it  is  not 
the  rich  and  the  idle  who  emigrate,  but  only 
the  strong,  the  daring,  the  laborious,  who  ask 
the  smile  of  fortune  for  their  love  of  work  and 
their  perseverance  and  ability  at  it.  In  the  for- 
mation of  our  United  States,  the  Catholics,  by 
Divine  Providence,  lent  their  efficacious  aid. 
They  were,  it  is  true,  in  a  minority;  but  as  men 
of  order,  of  high  morahty,  of  intrepid  daring, 
they  gave  proofs  that  they  were  inferior  to 
none;  and  with  their  spirit  of  loyalty  they  won 
and  secured  for  the  new  nation  the  nobly  con- 
ceived law  of  liberty. 

From  that  day  liberty  of  worship  in  all  its 
extent  and  sincerity  has  shone  in  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States;  because  the  law  of 
liberty,  profoundly  understood,  exists  and  tri- 
umphs in  the  soul  of  the  young  nation. 

The  Church  needs  but  liberty;  and  only  the 
malice  of  men  and  the  jealousy  of  rulers  can 
allege  that  the  Church  abuses  this  right;  only 
these  can  thwart  the  progress  of  the  Church; 


358    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

only  these  can  oppose  the  development  of  her 
divine  mission.  And  since  with  us  true  liberty 
is  not  opposed,  Catholicism  in  a  hundred  years 
has  been  able  to  progress  rapidly  and  widely; 
and  this  progress  stands  out  as  one  of  the 
greatest  triumphs  registered  in  ecclesiastical 
history. 

In  old  Europe  heads  of  States  time  and 
again  in  various  ways  have  more  or  less  bound 
the  Church  under  the  pretext  of  protecting 
her,  and  have  made  her  the  victim  of  political 
hypocrisy  ;  but  in  young  America  no  chain,  no 
yoke  is  put  upon  the  Church. 

The  ecclesiastical  authority  exercises  its  ac- 
tivity in  the  most  ample  liberty,  amid  surround- 
ings where  liberty  is  no  vain  word,  but  the 
reality  and  the  incarnation  of  an  idea.  The 
seed  has  been  well  sown;  it  has  blossomed 
wonderfully  ;  it  has  produced  excellent  fruit. 

This  liberty  which  we  enjoy  is  a  gift  which 
Divine  Providence  has  bestowed  upon  the 
American  Church,  for  which  we  should  cher- 
ish in  our  hearts  the  most  lively  gratitude. 

In  the  land  discovered  by  the  great  Ligurian 


After  Fifty  Years  359 

the  bishops  have  direct  communication  with 
Rome;  and  Catholic  Rome  is  able  to  direct  and 
govern  the  American  Church  without  the  in- 
tervention of  the  Powers  ;  the  bishops  are  free, 
they  do  not  depend  at  all  on  the  State,  they 
are  real  and  great  authorities.  In  ecclesiastical 
doings  and  questions  the  State  can  not  inter- 
vene, and  in  fact  it  does  not  intervene. 

The  American  State  binds  no  arm  in  chains, 
which — even  were  they  of  gold — always  im- 
pede the  free  development  of  the  action  of  the 
Church. 

Under  the  gegis  of  this  liberty  it  was  natural 
to  expect  a  great  development  in  the  field  of 
the  Catholic  religion,  and  the  expectation  has 
been  splendidly  crowned  by  a  consoling  and 
cheering  success.  When  it  is  remembered  that 
a  century  ago  throughout  all  the  United  States 
there  was  but  one  bishop,  having  his  See  in 
Baltimore,  with  a  few  thousand  Catholics, 
scattered  here  and  there,  and  grouped  in  Bos- 
ton, New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  one  is 
amazed  and  thrilled  at  the  sight  of  such  a  flour- 
ishing harvest  of  Catholic  souls  to-day. 


360   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

After  the  consecration  of  the  first  bishop, 
Cathohcism  began  to  emerge  in  new  splendor, 
began  to  gain  ground.  Suffragan  bishops  were 
created,  who  displayed  great  zeal  in  the  diffu- 
sion of  Christianit3^  To  our  consolation,  to 
our  holy  pride,  we  can  claim  that  of  the  seventy 
millions  of  inhabitants  one-fourth  are  Cath- 
olics, and  that  there  are  many  cities,  one  of 
which  is  Boston,  where  Catholicism  reigns  in 
the  hearts  of  the  majority  of  the  citizens. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  first  mission- 
aries who  went  to  evangelize  the  new  nation 
did  not  possess  a  lofty  degree  of  scientific 
culture,  but  at  the  time  this  was  not  called  for, 
was  not  necessary,  because  their  mission  was 
to  be  among  the  humble  classes  of  society, 
among  the  tillers  of  the  soil,  the  miners,  the 
railroad  workers.  What  such  really  needed 
was  virtue  and  zeal,  and  the  first  missionaries 
who  came  to  us  from  strong  and  Catholic  Ire- 
land brought  with  them  the  faith  and  zeal  of 
their  St.  Patrick,  and  with  this  faith  and  zeal 
they  performed  prodigies  of  apostolic  work. 
Another   thing   needful    for   the   missionary, 


After  Fifty  Years  361 

the  first  pioneer  of  civilization,  was  physical 
strength,  because  he  must  undergo  immense 
labors,  traverse  vast  regions,  and  perform  toil- 
some journeys  under  the  fierce  rays  of  the  sun, 
and  under  the  fury  of  terrible  rains;  his  brow 
was  ever  dropping  perspiration,  and  his  clothes 
were  covered  with  the  dust  of  many  journeys. 

The  French  missionaries  joined  with  the 
Irish,  and  both,  while  infusing  love  for  Jesus 
Christ  into  the  hearts  of  the  people,  at  the  same 
time  infused  love  for  His  representative  on 
earth,  the  Roman  Pontiff. 

But  if  tem-ples  were  being  raised  to  the 
Lord,  if  the  divine  worship  was  flourishing, 
scientific  culture  did  not  shine  with  great  bril- 
liance in  the  schools,  not  indeed  through  the 
fault  of  those  who  founded  them,  but  on  ac- 
count of  the  circumstances  and  conditions  of 
the  time. 

In  truth  the  Catholics  of  those  days  were 
poor  and  were  not  able  to  provide  for  the  edu- 
cation of  their  children.  It  was  easier  for  them 
to  earn  their  bread  by  the  instruments  of  their 
trade  than  by  the  pen,  and  few  there  were 


362   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

among  the  Catholic  youth  who  could  put  them- 
selves on  the  road  to  the  exercise  of  a  profes- 
sion, or  to  enter  on  the  way  of  the  sanctuary 
which  leads  to  the  priesthood.  There  was  an 
idea  of  opening  a  seminary,  but  it  was  not  easy 
to  find  teachers  who  could  worthily  break  the 
bread  of  knowledge  for  students.  Those 
schools  were  indeed  a  source  of  activity,  a 
fount  of  zeal,  but  the  instruction  given  in  them 
was  not  of  a  high  grade,  sufficient  though  it 
was  for  the  mentality  of  the  people  at  the  time. 

But  with  the  development  of  the  national 
wealth,  with  the  new  ideals  toward  a  goal  of 
intellectual  greatness,  with  the  new  aspiration 
for  glory,  the  desire  for  higher  education 
sprang  up  strong  in  all  breasts;  and  then  the 
need  was  felt  of  a  cultured  clergy  who  should 
raise  themselves  by  their  learning  above  all 
classes  of  the  intelligent  and  studious. 

And  now  we  see  a  number  of  youths,  as- 
pirants to  the  priestly  dignity,  specially  favored 
by  Providence,  coming  to  Rome,  and  received 
as  alumni  in  the  College  of  the  Propaganda, 
that    fount    of    ecclesiastical    culture    whose 


After  Fifty  Years  363 

waters  have  flowed  over  the  whole  world. 
They  came  here  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  that 
lofty  and  profound  culture  which  Rome  alone 
can  give. 

In  this  band  of  alumni  there  were  two  who 
after  finishing  their  studies  and  returning  to 
America  gave  a  new  and  vigorous  impulse  to 
the  intellectual,  scientific,  artistic,  and  moral 
movement.  Like  luminous  stars  they  made  the 
American  sky  resplendent  with  the  light  of 
ecclesiastical  learning;  it  was  they  who  opened 
the  new  field  of  sacred  culture.  With  the 
keenest  zeal  they  united  the  most  profound 
knowledge — zeal  and  knowledge  imbibed  at  the 
virgin  and  inexhaustible  fount  that  flows  from 
the  summit  of  the  seven  sacred  hills.  They 
possessed  in  the  highest  degree  the  culture  of 
Rome,  and  like  eagles  they  soared  above  all 
others. 

These  two  glories  of  whom  I  speak  are 
Spalding  and  Kenrick,  both  of  whom  died 
while  Archbishop  of  Baltimore.  Erudite 
and  virtuous  as  they  were,  their  elevation 
to    the    episcopate    was    but    natural,    and 


364    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

they  became  recognized  as  the  greatest  leaders 
in  the  ecclesiastical  field  in  the  United  States. 

From  the  moment  these  two  suns  appeared 
the  American  clergy  felt  an  impulse  to  fruitful 
study,  to  the  attainment  of  the  science  which 
the  new  conditions  demanded.  And  thus  to 
Rome  was  due  the  intellectual  movement  in 
America,  to  Rome  which  enriched  with  its  lofty 
culture  the  minds  and  hearts  of  our  young 
alumni  of  Propaganda. 

Before  the  return  to  America  of  Spalding 
and  Kenrick  the  Protestant  clergy  held  their 
heads  high,  making  show  of  a  culture  which 
they  really  did  not  possess;  they  looked  down 
on  the  Catholic  clergy,  held  them  as  of  no  ac- 
count, described  them  as  ignorant  and  destitute 
of  all  rehgious  and  social  prestige.  Eut  the 
two  brilliant  alumni  of  Propaganda,  by  their 
learned  and  eloquent  preaching,  by  their  publi- 
cation of  learned  volumes,  raised  the  humbled 
dignity  of  the  Catholic  clergy,  raised  it  to  the 
height  to  which  it  was  called,  and  shed  luster 
on  the  faith  and  science  of  Rome. 

Inspired  by  these  two  great  men,  numbers 


After  Fifty  Years  365 

of  youths  yearned  for  the  sacred  glory  of  the 
priesthood;  they  were  born  to  the  hfe  of  the 
sanctuary  as  the  flowers  bud  forth  under  the 
beneficent  dew  of  the  morning.  They  turned 
their  eyes  to  Rome,  where  such  a  treasury  of 
wisdom  is  preserved,  where  the  hght  shines 
with  such  brilHance  ;  they  crossed  the  ocean  and 
took  the  road  to  Rome  and,  like  birds  in  their 
nest,  they  folded  their  mystic  wings  within  the 
shadow  of  the  College  of  Propaganda. 

These  pilgrims  of  ecclesiastical  science  in- 
creasing every  year  in  number,  the  angelic 
Pius  IX,  in  the  vision  of  a  radiant  future,  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  having  a  college  erected  in 
which  the  students  of  the  New  World  might  be 
gathered  together,  of  providing  them  with  a 
house  of  their  own  where  the  alumni,  while 
preserving  their  national  character,  might  be 
transformed  as  regards  faith  and  knowledge 
into  perfect  and  authentic  Romans. 

December  8th  in  the  year  1859  marks  the 
great  event,  and  glorious  indeed  is  this  date  for 
the  American  Church,  because  it  assured  for  it 
all  that  is  attainable  in  culture  and  science. 


366   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

We  hail  with  joy,  after  fifty  years,  the  radi- 
ant dawn  of  that  historic  day! 

The  erection  of  this  College  was  a  necessity. 
The  greater  the  distance  from  the  center,  the 
greater  is  the  diminution  of  centripetal  force. 
Thus,  studying  and  living  far  away  from  the 
center  of  the  Faith,  there  arises  the  danger  of 
lapsing  from  the  sound  traditions  of  sacred 
teaching;  and  this  danger  might  be  rendered 
greater  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  our  young 
men  by  that  innate  spirit  of  liberty  which 
borders  on  independence. 

From  this  point  of  view  emerges  the  full  im- 
portance of  the  foundation  of  an  American 
College  on  Roman  soil;  because  this  College 
reaches  the  splendor  of  a  lofty  significance,  of 
a  sublime  ideal;  it  becomes  transformed  into 
the  link  which  unites  the  clergy  of  America  to 
the  Holy  See  ;  the  youths  educated  here  remain 
steadfastly  attached  to  the  rock  of  the  Vatican. 

Where  commerce  flourishes  and  industry 
triumphs,  and  where  the  one  and  the  other 
occupy  the  minds  and  the  hearts  of  men, 
science  can  not  shine  forth  in  all  its  splendor. 


After  Fifty  Years  367 

because  the  spirit  of  commerce  is  natm^ally  con- 
trary to  the  spirit  of  intellectual  culture;  and 
hence  in  the  new  country,  especially  at  the  be- 
ginning, it  was  not  possible  to  hope  for  the 
erection  of  seminaries  of  culture  of  the  highest 
order. 

When  a  school  is  opened  in  Rome  teachers 
are  easily  found  who  with  special  knowledge 
unite  didactic  fitness,  a  necessary  requisite  for 
the  office  of  teaching;  but  elsewhere  the  selec- 
tion of  teachers  is  rendered  somewhat  difficult 
by  the  dearth  of  true  and  safe  men  of  science 
capable  of  adding  honor  to  the  glorious  title  of 
professors. 

Add  to  this  that  in  Rome  there  is  an  enthusi- 
asm for  study.  Under  the  stimulus  of  illus- 
trious masters,  luminaries  of  science,  young 
men  study  with  love,  almost  with  ecstasy,  and 
a  youth  attains,  in  less  time  and  with  less  labor, 
the  possession  of  a  degree  of  knowledge  and 
culture  that  could  not  be  attained  elsewhere 
after  long  years  of  study  and  no  little  toil. 

I  appeal  to  the  alumni  present  who  have 
now  become  zealous  and  intelligent  apostles  in 


368   History  of  the  American  College.Bome 

America.  Do  you  not  remember  with  what 
love  the  pages  of  the  learned  books  were  turned 
here?  Do  you  not  remember  with  what  ardor 
one  studied  theology  with  the  scholastic  method 
under  a  Satolli,  philosophy  under  a  Lorenzelli, 
history  under  a  Galimberti?  Do  you  remem- 
ber the  great,  ardent  enthusiasm  that  was 
witliin  us  while  we  were  inside  the  walls  of  the 
school?  The  school  was  joy  for  us  and  happi- 
ness. How  we  used  to  hang  on  the  lips  of 
those  apostles  of  ecclesiastical  science  from 
which  flowed  the  streams  of  knowledge,  and 
how  we  soared  aloft  with  them  toward  the 
radiant  light  of  truth! 

The  Roman  method  of  imparting  and  ac- 
quiring knowledge  is  praiseworthy  in  every 
respect.  Here  in  Rome  there  is  no  question 
of  exerting  a  mechanical  effort  of  memory,  but 
rather  of  attaining  possession  of  the  knowable 
with  the  open  wings  of  the  intelligence,  with 
the  high  purpose  of  understanding  well  what  is 
learned. 

I  remember  how  there  arose  in  us  the  desire 
to  know  profoundly  the  secrets  of  ecclesiastical 
science,  and  to  make  ourselves  masters  of  them. 


After  Fifty  Years  369 

The  scientific  atmosphere  that  enveloped  them 
was  admired  and  savored  hy  us;  and  thence 
emerged  the  first  impulse  to  study  which  gave 
the  intellectual  bent  of  our  whole  lives. 

The  man  who  studies  in  Rome  does  not  stick, 
if  I  may  say  so,  at  the  details  of  knowledge; 
he  does  not  content  himself  with  reading  small 
manuals:  he  feels  impelled  to  the  contempla- 
tion of  broad  views,  of  spacious  scientific 
horizons. 

Then,  again,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
youths  from  all  parts  of  the  world  come  to 
Rome  to  study.  All  these  offer  one  another 
reciprocally  and  unconsciously  an  element 
really  of  special  study  and  varied  erudition. 
Elsewhere  the  student  has  beside  him  another 
student  of  the  same  region,  while  the  Roman 
student  finds  himself  brought  into  contact  with 
youths  of  all  nations  and  all  races  from  the 
East  and  the  West,  with  different  traits,  and 
bearing  with  them  a  varied  and  characteristic 
note. 

Each  of  them  has  a  gift  which  the  other  does 
not  possess,  but  each  of  them  may  enrich  him- 
self from  these  multiplex  and  divers  prerog- 


370   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

atives  which  are  to  be  found  in  his  multiform 
school-fellows,  as  the  busy  bee  sucks  the  vital 
sap  of  all  the  flowers  for  the  making  of  honey. 

Here  in  the  generous  and  brilliant  rivalry 
of  study  the  student  has  to  think  of  gaining  a 
victory,  not  over  a  fellow-student  of  the  same 
region  and  race,  but  over  youths  belonging 
to  all  the  nations,  and  the  best  and  choicest 
intellects  of  those  nations.  And  this  scientific 
contest  between  all  the  representatives  of  the 
various  parts  of  the  world  is  a  source  of  effi- 
cacious stimulus  to  hard  study  ;  it  sharpens  the 
wits,  it  refines  and  strengthens  the  intellect. 

And  here  the  American  alumnus,  trans- 
formed into  an  authentic  Roman,  better  under- 
stands the  characteristic  note  of  the  Cath- 
olicity of  the  religion  of  Christ;  has  a  better 
idea  of  the  universality  of  the  Church;  and  his 
nationality,  of  which  he  is  proud,  is  no  longer 
in  his  mind  as  something  isolated  and  privi- 
leged, but  takes  the  place  that  belongs  to  it  in 
the  bosom  of  the  universal  Church.  Gradually 
and  insensibly  comes  the  destruction  of  what  is 
often  a  cause  of   serious  discord,   that   pro- 


After  Fifty  Years  371 

vincialism  professed  by  those  who,  educated  at 
home,  in  small  centers,  have  ever  before  their 
eyes  the  narrow  horizon  of  the  domestic  roof. 
Here  one  begins  to  have  that  noble  sentiment 
of  universal  charity  w^hich  is  proper  to  Rome 
and  which  the  priest  must  feel  for  all,  since  all 
are  children  of  the  great  Mother,  Rome. 

Unlike  politicians  who  exalt  their  own 
nation,  and  to  glorify  it  are  ready  to  humble 
the  others,  the  priest  must  love  every  region, 
every  corner  of  the  earth,  because  everywhere 
there  are  souls  to  be  led  to  God,  because  we  all 
form  and  should  form  one  and  the  same  f amil}^ 
whose  adored  Head  is  Jesus  Christ. 

And  if  there  is  one  nation  more  than  another 
which  has  special  need  of  thic  spirit  of  uni- 
versal fraternity  it  is  America,  for  in  the  for- 
mation of  its  population  the  peoples  of  the 
whole  world  have  contributed  their  generous 
share. 

And  the  son  of  America,  having  completed 
in  Rome  his  scientific  and  moral  novitiate,  re- 
turns to  his  own  country  a  cosmopolitan  in 
mind  and  heart,  in  thought  and  sentiment  ;  he 


372   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

brings  with  him  as  a  choice  gift  to  his  nation 
the  spirit  of  universal  sohdarity  which  he  has 
acquired  in  Rome. 

He  who  has  Hved  in  Rome,  he  who  has  ac- 
quired the  possession  of  that  spiritual  Roman- 
ness  and  of  that  faith  wherewith  Christ  is 
Roman^  is  in  a  position  to  understand  the 
Americans  better  and  more  easily,  better  and 
more  easily  to  educate  them  and  train  them  for 
the  attainments  of  that  glory  to  which  the 
destinies  of  the  young  nation  are  calling  it. 
Besides,  separation  from  one's  country  is  a 
blessing  ;  it  is  an  advantage  to  live  away  from  it 
for  a  time.  The  man  w^ho  leaves  his  country 
to  live  in  other  climes  for  a  noble  scope  becomes 
more  a  man,  more  a  soldier,  disciplined  and 
strong. 

Here  the  youth,  far  from  the  cares  of  his 
family,  from  the  caresses  of  his  parents,  is  more 
free  to  dedicate  his  mind  to  sacred  science  and 
his  heart  to  the  priestly  virtues.  Even  during 
his  hours  of  recreation  he  may  widen  his  field 
of  culture.  In  his  walks  he  visits  the  museums 
which  are  the  richest  and  most  beautiful  in  the 


After  Fifty  Years  373 

world;  he  has  before  his  eyes  those  monuments 
which  are  to  be  found  only  here;  he  is  thrilled 
before  the  great  works  of  art,  the  masterpieces 
of  genius. 

Without  study  he  learns  the  movements  and 
the  history  of  art,  learns  to  recognize  the  genius 
that  has  produced  an  artistic  work;  he  culti- 
vates his  mind,  he  refines  it  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  beautiful  that  Hes  around  him 
in  the  museums  of  Rome,  in  her  beautiful 
churches,  in  those  wonderful  basilicas  of  hers 
whose  soaring  domes  rise  like  souls  in  prayer 
to  heaven. 

And  if  the  opportunity  of  seeing,  contem- 
plating, and  savoring  so  much  that  is  choice 
and  beautiful,  so  much  revelation  of  genius, 
such  a  display  of  artistic  beauty,  means  a  great 
deal  for  the  European,  it  means  far  more  for 
the  American,  because  owing  to  our  youthful- 
ness  as  a  nation  we  can  not  have  in  America 
ancient  traditions  of  art,  and  therefore  we  can 
not  have  those  monuments  that  rise  in  Rome. 

Nor  is  this  all.  For  here  you  contemplate 
something  that  is  superior  to  all  works  of  art; 


374   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

here  you  are  surrounded  and  devoutly  fasci- 
nated by  the  memories  of  the  saints. 

Here  every  street,  every  piazza,  every  corner 
holds  a  memory,  a  shrine,  a  column,  that 
brings  before  you  the  thought  of  the  heroes  of 
virtue,  the  holy  confessors,  the  holy  martyrs, 
the  holy  priests,  the  holy  bishops,  the  holy 
pontiffs. 

Here  we  can  kneel  before  the  urn  that  con- 
tains the  sacred  remains  of  St.  Aloysius  Gon- 
zaga to  beg  for  purity  of  heart;  before  the 
tomb  of  St.  Philip  Neri  to  obtain  zeal  in  the 
apostolate;  before  the  tomb  of  St.  Ignatius 
Loyola  to  temper  our  souls  and  acquire  the 
strength  necessary  for  fighting  the  battles  of 
the  Faith. 

Moreover  the  young  man,  in  his  holidays, 
may  become  a  pilgrim  at  the  most  celebrated 
sanctuaries.  In  a  few  hours  he  can  be  at 
Assisi,  the  mystic  city,  and  venerate  the  tomb 
of  the  Seraphic  poverello,  and  there  he  will 
see  the  budding  of  the  flowers  of  humility  and 
poverty,  virtues  that  are  so  necessary  to  con- 
quer pride  and  destroy  inordinate  attachment 


After  Fifty  Years  375 

to  riches,  which  all  admit  constitutes  a  grave 
danger  for  our  beloved  nation.  In  a  few 
hours  he  can  be  in  Bologna  and  venerate  the 
tomb  of  St.  Dominic,  and  there  prostrate  on 
his  knees  he  will  beg  for  burning  zeal  for  the 
conversion  of  the  erring.  He  can  push  on  to 
Milan  and  kneel  before  the  glorious  tomb  of 
St.  Charles  Borromeo,  and  at  the  resting- 
place  of  that  great  master  of  priests  he  will 
obtain  the  ecclesiastical  spirit  which  is  the  force 
and  the  hfe  of  the  priesthood.  But  more  than 
by  aught  else  the  heart  of  the  young  man  will 
be  transformed  into  the  heart  of  an  apostle  by 
living  so  close  to  the  Chair  and  Tomb  of  the 
Prince  of  the  Apostles. 

This  closeness  kindles  more  warmly  in  his 
heart  love  for  the  Pope,  deepens  his  veneration 
for  him.  And  sincere  and  firm  attachment  to 
the  Vicar  of  Christ  is  very  important  for 
America;  it  is  what  the  dew  is  to  the  flowers, 
what  the  sun  is  for  nature,  what  the  compass 
is  for  the  ship;  it  is  the  animating  force,  it  is 
life. 

The  young  levite  who  lives  in  the  shadow 


376   History  of  the  American  College.Eoine 

of  the  Vatican  feels  his  breast  inflamed  with 
such  a  flame  of  devotion  for  the  Vicar  of 
Christ  that  it  will  ever  burn  there  so  bright  and 
strong  that  neither  time  nor  distance  can 
quench  it. 

The  alumni  of  this  College  are  the  van- 
guard of  the  propagators  of  the  strong  attach- 
ment which  should  be  felt  for  the  Holy  See. 
They  leave  Rome  carrying  with  them  the  torch 
of  ecclesiastical  science;  but  they  carry,  too, 
the  flame  that  burns  for  the  Papacy,  and  with 
this  flame  they  kindle  love  in  men's  breasts  for 
him  who  represents  God  on  earth. 

America  must  be  grateful  to  the  Pontiff  for 
the  noble  gift  of  this  College.  Face  to  face 
with  the  innumerable  blessings  that  have 
flowed  from  this  institute,  sacred  to  faith  and 
science,  America  raises  a  hymn  of  gratitude 
to  the  Pontiff.  And  while  America  thanks, 
Rome  smiles  and  looks  with  the  eyes  of  a 
mother  on  the  alumni,  bishops  and  priests 
assembled  here,  who  have  come  back  again  to 
sit  by  her  side  and  taste  the  sweetness  of  her 
maternal  embraces. 


After  Fifty  Years  377 

And  now  by  this  road  which  has  been  opened 
between  America  and  Rome,  well  defined, 
spacious,  and  beautiful,  flanked  by  faith  and 
by  hope,  lit  with  the  rays  of  charity,  by  this 
road  shall  pass  the  sons  of  the  young  nation 
coming  to  contemplate  their  Mother,  coming 
to  enrich  themselves  with  knowledge;  and 
afterward,  comforted  and  blessed  by  her,  with 
their  minds  stored  with  choice  learning  and 
their  hearts  full  of  zeal,  by  this  road  they  shall 
return  to  their  dear  country  to  spread  the  light, 
to  perform  good  works  in  the  exercise  of  their 
priestly  activity. 

By  this  road  streams  of  men,  priests  and  lay- 
men, shall  go  and  come;  streams  of  thoughts 
and  affections,  of  ideas  and  sentiments,  from 
the  immense  shores  of  ocean  shall  touch  the 
banks  of  Tiber  and  from  the  banks  of  Tiber 
flow  back  again  to  the  shores  of  America. 

Barriers  removed  by  faith  and  distances  by 
love,  the  heart-beats  of  America  and  Rome 
shall  be  heard  as  if  they  were  side  by  side, 
palpitating  in  unison,  in  the  one  harmony  of  a 
common  ideal  :  love  of  fatherland,  the  salvation 


378   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

of  souls,  the  glory  of  the  Pope,  the  triumph 
of  Christ. 

We  are  celebrating  with  joy  the  cinquan- 
tenary  of  this  College,  and  our  enthusiasm 
must  be  all  the  greater  when  our  thoughts 
dwell  on  the  painful  trials  that  shadowed  its 
young  days  !  Yes,  during  those  fifty  years  this 
College  has  passed  through  difficult  moments; 
not  always  have  the  roses  embowered  it;  but 
often  it  has  been  surrounded  by  the  thorns  of 
sorrow.  Dark  clouds  have  risen  above  it,  dark- 
ening its  calm  horizon.  And  we  who  have  been 
Rectors  know  of  its  pains,  its  doubts,  its 
grievous  discouragement,  and  we  have  gone 
through  hours  of  great  distress  fearing  lest  all 
the  fair  hopes  conceived  for  its  future  were 
destined  to  be  shattered. 

But  now  the  clouds  have  melted  away,  the 
horizon  is  calm  again.  Its  foundations  have 
become  so  strong  that  its  hfe  is  secure;  it  has 
taken  its  place  in  Rome  and  in  America.  With 
the  increasing  number  of  the  bishops  and 
priests,  alumni  of  tliis  College,  who  shine 
in  the  firmament  of  America  as  suns  by  their 


After  Fifty  Years  379 

intelligence  and  their  zeal,  there  is  no  room  for 
doubt  as  to  its  future.  And  this  year,  on 
attaining  the  historic  date  of  its  cinquanten- 
ary,  it  is  in  a  better  position  than  ever  before 
for  the  attainment  of  its  noble  goal. 

And  now  all  of  us  who  are  assembled 
here,  alumni  and  young  levites,  priests  and 
bishops,  princes  of  the  Church,  the  representa- 
tives of  the  highest  authority  on  earth,  let  us 
raise  up  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts  a  hymn 
of  thanksgiving  to  God  for  having  blessed  and 
fructified  the  youth  of  this  institute  and  pre- 
served it  from  the  dangers  that  threatened  its 
existence. 

Nor  must  we  let  oblivion  fall  on  the  beloved 
memory  of  the  angelic  Pius  IX,  who  with  a 
heart  full  of  affection  for  the  new  nation, 
showed  his  munificence  to  it  by  this  noble  and 
sublime  gift.  And  let  us  not  forget  Leo  XIII, 
who  honored  this  College  with  his  high  protec- 
tion and  conferred  on  it  the  glorious  title  of 
Pontifical  Seminary.  And  let  us  offer  our 
tribute  to  the  Pontiff,  gloriously  reigning, 
Pius  X,  who  has  so  deeply  at  heart  the  des- 


380   History  of  tlie  American  College, Rome 

tinies  of  America.  He  feels  for  this  institute 
a  warm  and  paternal  affection;  he  looks  upon 
it  with  an  eye  of  love,  because  he  sees  in  it  the 
connecting  link  between  Rome  and  America, 
which,  although  the  youngest  of  nations,  has 
ever  showed  a  special  attachment  and  venera- 
tion for  the  Head  of  the  Church,  and  gives 
proofs  that  it  will  be  a  great  force  for  the 
Church  and  the  Papacy. 

Yes,  let  us  offer  our  tribute  to  Pius  X,  who 
loves  with  an  ardent  love  the  distant  land  and, 
just  as  if  it  were  next  to  him,  blesses  it,  and 
with  his  blessing  confers  on  it  the  fairest 
augurj^  nay,  a  source  of  certainty  that  our 
young  nation  will  fulfil  its  glorious  destiny. 

THE  COLLEGE:  ITS  ALUMNP 

ADDRESS  BY  REV.  DR.  E.  A.  PACE,  OF  THE  CATH- 
OLIC  UNIVERSITY   AT   AVASHINGTON,    D.    C, 
DELIVERED  AT  THE  JUBILEE  ACCADEMIA, 
JUNE  12,   1909 

A  LMA  Mater  has  a  right,  and  even  a  sacred 

duty,  on  this  day  of  her  Jubilee,  to  open 

the  records  whose  pages  she  has  so  lovingly 

^From  "Rome,"  July  19,  1909. 


After  Fifty  Years  381 

inscribed  for  fifty  years.  While  every  one  of 
us  is  familiar  with  the  career  of  those  who  were 
our  comrades  here  or  our  co-laborers  in  the 
ministry,  the  College  alone,  as  a  living  institu- 
tion, holds  in  unfailing  memory  the  name  and 
the  deeds  of  each  and  all  her  sons — and  she,  the 
tender  mother,  cherishes  with  an  equal  affec- 
tion those  who  were  her  first-born  and  those 
who  are  the  latest.  To  our  eyes,  indeed,  the 
material  record  may  seem  to  fade  as  we  go  back 
to  the  earliest  entries;  but  in  her  affectionate 
remembrance  there  is  no  dimness  nor  aught  of 
the  eff acement  with  which  time  blurs  the  trac- 
ing of  human  hands. 

So  to-day  she  looks  with  maternal  pride 
upon  the  life-course  of  her  children,  of  those 
who  have  been  raised  to  high  office  in  Holy 
Church,  of  others  who  have  been  charged  to 
teach  the  youth  of  our  land  the  sacred  truths 
imbibed  at  the  fountain-head,  and  of  the  larger 
number  still  who  have  held  in  their  several 
dioceses  positions  of  honor  and  of  trust.  Of 
all  these  and  of  the  distinction  they  have  won 
she  is  justly  proud;  and  we,  her  younger  sons, 


382    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

right  gladly  offer  to  her  and  to  them  our  hearty 
congratulations. 

Yet  the  brilliance  of  these  and  of  their  suc- 
cess can  not  conceal  from  her  retrospective 
glance  the  work  that  has  been  done,  quietly 
and  dutifully,  by  the  hundreds  whose  noblest 
title  is  that  they  are  Roman  students,  that 
their  intellectual  life  owes  its  depth,  its  breadth, 
and  its  refinement  to  their  Roman  education, 
and  that  their  spiritual  life  is  but  the  living  out, 
amid  other  surroundings,  of  the  life  they  led 
in  the  College.  To  have  been  the  adolescentes 
delecti,  to  have  been  educated  here  in  spem 
diocesium  nostrorum,  and  finally  to  have  it  said 
by  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  "Utilissime  sese  exer- 
cuerunt  in  omni  sacri  ìninisterii  genere'' — these 
are  in  themselves  marks  of  distinction  which 
only  the  graduate  of  Rome  can  wear,  but  which 
each  and  every  graduate  may  and  must  wear 
with  feelings  of  righteous  exultation. 

But  it  is  not  a  feeling  that  finds  its  best  ex- 
pression in  words  ;  it  is  no  empty  sense  of  for- 
tunate superiority  that  prompts  vain-glorious 
action.    It  is  rather  the  conviction  that  by  the 


After  Fifty  Years  383 

very  fact  of  his  Roman  education  he  has  ac- 
cepted an  ideal  which  his  Hfe  must  realize,  has 
consented  to  be  judged  by  a  standard  higher 
than  would  have  been  set  for  him  elsewhere; 
in  a  word,  has  undertaken  to  show  forth  in  his 
personal  career  the  characteristic  qualities 
which  the  Holy  See  would  have  in  every  mem- 
ber of  the  Catholic  priesthood. 

The  spirit  of  service,  because  the  work  itself 
is  the  best  worth  doing  ;  the  spirit  of  reverence 
for  law,  because  it  is  the  ordinance  of  God 
through  His  chosen  representatives;  the  spirit 
of  calm,  self-possessed  adherence  to  the  path  of 
duty,  because  it  is  the  path  of  life — such  a 
spirit,  especially  essential  to  every  priest,  rises 
up  with  peculiar  strength  in  the  soul  of  the 
Roman  graduate. 

And  that  strength  comes  from  the  fact  that 
he  has  formed  his  idea  of  the  Church  and  of  its 
divine  organization,  not  simply  by  the  study 
of  books  nor  through  foreign  report  as  of 
something  far  removed,  but  by  living  for  years 
at  the  foot  of  the  Fisherman's  throne,  by  feel- 
ing in  a  more  intense,  because  more  immediate, 


384   History  of  the  American  College,  Rome 

way  the  vital  impulses  that  issue  unceasingly 
from  the  great  heart  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

The  graduate  of  this  College  goes  out  to 
take  up  liis  priestly  work  in  the  midst  of  an 
environment  that  for  him  in  childhood  and 
youth  was  the  whole  world  of  reality.  It  is 
not  less  dear  to  him  now,  but  rather,  in  truth, 
far  dearer,  since  it  is  now  the  appointed  scene 
of  his  priestly  labors.  Yet,  in  a  measure,  he 
sees  it  with  other  eyes;  sees  it  with  a  larger 
perspective  and  a  truer  sense  of  the  value  of 
things;  looks  upon  its  feverish  activity  from 
the  viewpoint  of  one  who  has  learned  in  some 
degree  to  estimate  time  and  change  in  the  light 
of  eternal  Rome  and  of  Rome's  eternal  Faith. 

Every  one  of  us,  my  fellow-alumni,  has 
gazed  for  hours  from  some  summit  of  the  hills 
that  look  upon  Rome  and  upon  the  blue  ocean 
that  laves  the  Latian  coast.  In  the  wide-en- 
circling plain  the  shadows  alternate  with  the 
sunlight  that  falls  upon  the  ruins  of  man's 
work  and  the  broken  arches  of  mortal  triumph. 
But  there  at  the  farther  horizon  towers  the 
dome  whose  majesty  looks  over  shadow  and 


After  FifUj  Years  385 

cloud  to  the  majesty  of  the  inviolate  sea.  It  is 
as  though  all  the  past,  sweeping  silently  before 
us,  bears  witness,  in  the  eloquence  of  death 
itself,  to  that  which  lives  forever.  And  we,  pon- 
dering the  lesson  in  our  minds  and  hearts,  go 
down  once  again  to  our  tasks  with  a  new  in- 
spiration, resolved,  each  in  his  own  way,  to  re- 
store all  things  in  Christ  as  worthy  alumni  of 
Alma  Mater  and  loyal  children  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Church. 


386   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

JUBILEE   AUDIENCE    OF   THE 
AMERICAN   COLLEGE^ 

Last  Sunday  morning  the  Holy  Father 
received  in  the  Consistorial  Hall  the  alumni 
of  the  North  American  College,  together  with 
a  number  of  American  prelates  who  happened 
to  be  in  Rome.  Among  those  present  were 
Mgr.  Falconio,  Delegate  Apostolic  to  the 
United  States;  Mgr.  Farley,  Archbishop  of 
New  York;  Mgr.  O'Connell,  Archbishop  of 
Boston,  formerly  Rector  of  the  College  ;  Mgr. 
Blenk,  Archbishop  of  New  Orleans;  Mgr. 
Seton,  titular  Archbishop  of  Heliopolis  ;  Mgr. 
Kennedy,  titular  Bishop  of  Adrianopolis  and 
Rector  of  the  College;  Mgr.  Chatard,  Bishop 
of  Indianapolis,  formerly  Rector  of  the  Col- 
lege; Mgr.  Burke,  Bishop  of  St.  Joseph;  Mgr. 
Gabriels,  Bishop  of  Ogdensburg;  Mgr.  Mc- 
Donnell, Bishop  of  Brooklyn;  Mgr.  Hoban, 
Bishop  of  Scranton;  Mgr.  Keiley,  Bishop  of 
Savannah;  Mgr.  Corrigan,  Auxiliary  to  the 
Cardinal    Archbishop    of    Baltimore;    Mgr. 

^From  "Rome,"  June  19,  1909. 


After  FifUj  Years  387 

Simon,  titular  Bishop  of  Attalia;  Mgi'S. 
Kearney  and  Murphy,  of  New  York;  Mgrs. 
Donnelly  and  Barrett,  of  Brooklyn;  Mgr. 
Millerick,  of  Boston;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Pace,  of  the 
Catholic  University  of  America;  the  Rev.  Drs. 
Wall,  JNIcMackin,  Delaney,  Chambers,  and 
Fathers  Lewis,  Lynch,  O'Brien,  Sinnott,  Cur- 
rier, Raymond,  Connolly,  Lennon,  Mahon,  Tal- 
bot, Tracy,  Tighe,  and  Toomey,  of  New  York; 
the  Revs.  Joseph  O'Keefe  and  James  B.  Sin- 
nott and  Drs.  Garrigan  and  Corrigan,  of  Phil- 
adelphia; the  Rev.  M.  Fitzgerald  and  Drs. 
Maginnis,  White,  Higgins,  and  Fathers  Mc- 
Golrick,  Duhigg,  and  O'Toole,  of  Brooklyn; 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Selinger  and  James  Coffey,  of 
St.  Louis;  Patrick  J.  O'Leary,  of  Hartford; 
W.  A.  Plamendon,  Charles  Smith,  and  H.  J. 
Behr,  of  Newark;  P.  H.  Rowan,  of  Indian- 
apolis; J.  F.  Brunner,  J.  Schoenhoeft,  and 
H.  Rectin,  of  Cincinnati  ;  Thomas  and  Patrick 
Magee,  of  Fall  River;  D.  J.  Bustin,  of  Scran- 
ton;  W.  Foley,  of  Springfield  ;  J.  C.  Comiskey, 
of  Chicago;  A.  Mercer,  of  St.  Louis;  J.  Bart- 
ley,  of  Providence;  and  many  others  whose 


388   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

names  have  escaped  us,  and  all  the  students  of 
the  College. 

The  Holy  Father  passed  among  them  all, 
giving  his  hand  to  kiss  to  each  and  granting 
spiritual  favors,  while  the  College  choir,  con- 
ducted by  its  director,  Mgr.  Rella,  sang  beauti- 
fully a  number  of  motets. 

Afterward  Mgr.  Kennedy,  presenting  the 
alumni,  past  and  present,  to  His  Holiness, 
said: 

''Most  Holy  Father: 

"The  8th  of  December  of  this  year  brings 
with  it  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  founda- 
tion of  our  College.  We  have  anticipated  the 
commemoration  of  the  occasion  for  the  sake  of 
those  who  proposed  to  come  to  Rome  from  our 
distant  countrj^  to  celebrate  it.  Our  first  duty 
on  this  solemn  occasion  was  to  beg  the  favor  of 
being  allowed  to  meet  together  at  the  foot  of 
your  throne.  You  have  been  pleased.  Holy 
Father,  not  only  to  grant  us  this  grace,  but 
to  pour  out  the  fulness  of  your  paternal  heart 
in  a  most  noble  letter  addressed  to  me,  which 


After  Fifty  Years  389 

will  be  preserved  as  a  treasure  and  as  a  pledge 
of  your  solicitude  for  our  institute.  Your 
Holiness,  each  one  of  us  here  present  would 
hke  to  tell  you  individually  of  the  sentiments 
of  gratitude  and  love  that  animate  us.  The 
Rev.  President  of  the  Association  will  do  this 
in  the  name  of  all.  It  only  remains  for  me 
this  time  to  ask  your  permission  for  him  to 
speak  and  to  assure  you  that  his  words  are  the 
words  of  children  who  wish  to  be  second  to 
none  in  unlimited  obedience  to  you  and  in 
affection  for  your  sacred  person." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Wall,  the  retiring  President 
of  the  Alumni  Association,  then  read  the  fol- 
lowing address: 

"Most  Holy  Father: 

"Almost  ten  lustres  have  happily  passed  since 
that  most  joyful  day  on  which  our  Pontifical 
College  was  inaugurated  under  the  auspices  of 
the  immortal  Pius  IX.  The  great  Pontiff,  as 
universal  Pastor  and  Father,  was  pleased  to 
open  for  the  clergy  of  America  a  worthy  home  in 
this  his  own  See,  in  order  that  they,  too,  might 


390   Historij  of  the  American  College.Bome 

be  enabled  to  drink  the  doctrine  of  Christ  at 
the  fountain-head  and  breathe  the  atmosphere 
of  sanctity  which  surrounds  this  Eternal  City 
of  Rome,  the  City  of  Peter  until  the  consum- 
mation of  the  world.  And  from  that  day  to 
this,  the  College,  we  are  able  to  say  with  holy 
pride,  has  corresponded  with  the  paternal  solici- 
tude of  the  Pontiff,  its  Founder,  and  his  suc- 
cessors. Hundreds  of  priests,  and  among  them 
archbishops  and  bishops,  instinct  with  the 
spirit  and  traditions  of  Rome,  have  gone  forth 
from  it  over  our  immense  country  as  Apostles 
of  Christ,  while  over  a  hundred  young  levites, 
now  gathered  within  the  blessed  walls  that  once 
sheltered  us,  are  preparing  themselves  by  piety 
and  study  to  be  soon  our  companions  in  the 
holy  ministry.  And  to-day,  Holy  Father,  you 
see  here  before  you  all  these  youths  and  the 
representatives  of  those  who  have  preceded 
them,  and  who  have  come  to  Rome  on  this 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  their 
beloved  home  to  offer  to  you  and  in  your  per- 
son to  your  predecessors,  their  benefactors,  the 
tribute  of  their  profound  gratitude,  and  at  the 


After  Fifty  Years  391 

same  time  the  profession  of  their  unbomided 
obedience  of  mind  and  heart,  and  of  their  truly 
fihal  affection.  And  since,  O  Holy  Father, 
you  have  given  us  from  the  beginning  of  your 
glorious  and  fruitful  pontificate  the  restora- 
tion of  all  things  in  Christ  as  yonv  program, 
and  have  revealed  to  us  the  plots,  old  in  sub- 
stance but  modern  in  form,  by  which  it  is 
sought  to  undermine  the  very  foundations  of 
the  Church,  we  solemnly  promise  you  as  faith- 
ful, albeit  most  humble  co-operators,  to  carry 
on  the  fight  and  the  work  of  restoration  with 
you  under  the  guidance  of  our  immediate 
pastors:  Americans  full  of  love  for  our  coun- 
try, and  in  faith  and  works  Roman  to  the  core 
and  forever. 

"It  is  a  happy  coincidence  that  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Jubilee  of  our  College  falls  between 
two  solemn  dates  in  the  life  of  Your  Holiness. 
In  our  country  we  observed  with  all  the  en- 
thusiasm of  our  faith  and  our  hearts  the  fifti- 
eth anniversary  of  your  first  Mass;  to-day  we 
lay  at  your  feet  our  homage  as  priests  and  most 
affectionate  sons,  together  with  our  modest 


392   Ilistonj  of  the  American  College, Rome 

offering  for  the  first  Jubilee  of  your  episcopal 
consecration.  Dominus  conservet  te,  vivicet  te, 
heatam  faciat  te  in  terra  et  non  tradet  te  in 
animam  inimicorum  tuorwn — this  is  our  daily 
prayer. 

"Holj^  Father,  to  the  many  proofs  of  good- 
will with  which  you  have  honored  our  College 
since  the  beginning  of  your  pontificate,  you 
have  been  pleased  to  add  two  which  have 
touched  us  profoundly — by  raising  to  the 
episcopal  dignity  the  prelate  who  has  governed 
it  wisely  for  many  years,  and  by  addressing  to 
him  during  these  days  a  most  precious  letter 
in  which  3^ou  condense  all  the  sentiments  of 
your  heart  as  pastor  and  father  toward  our 
College.  Graciously  accej)t.  Holy  Father,  our 
most  warm  thanks. 

"And  now,  most  Holy  Father,  raise  your 
hand  over  us  and  bless  us  in  the  plenitude  of 
your  supreme  authority,  in  the  fulness  of  the 
heart  of  the  Vicar  of  Christ.  Let  this  benedic- 
tion descend  on  our  venerable  episcopate,  on 
our  priestly  ministry,  on  the  souls  entrusted 
to  us,  and  on  all  our  families,  on  the  Superiors 


After  Fifty  Years  393 

of  our  dear  College,  and  on  everybody  in  it, 
and  may  it  be  diffused  copiously  from  end  to 
end  of  our  most  beloved  country." 

The  Holy  Father  then  delivered  the  follow- 
ing important  address: 

"Words  fail  me,  venerable  brothers  and  be- 
loved sons,  to  express  the  consolation  I  feel  at 
seeing  you  here  on  this  solemn  occasion  of  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  institution  of  the 
Pontifical  College  of  North  America,  because 
your  presence  brings  before  me  the  good  that 
this  seminary  has  done,  is  doing,  and  will  do 
for  your  nation.  For  it  is  certain  that  the  in- 
tegrity and  purity  of  Catholic  doctrine,  forti- 
fied by  the  salutary  example  of  virtuous  direc- 
tors and  masters,  and  by  the  emulation  of  com- 
panions belonging  to  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  contribute  wonderfully  to  the  good 
preparation  of  young  men  for  the  sanctuary. 
When  you  add  to  this  the  fact  that  in  Rome 
everything  speaks  of  religion  :  the  sepulcher  of 
the  apostles  and  the  tombs  and  blood  and  rehcs 
of  the  martyrs,  the  holy  memories  of  the 
pontiffs,  the  basilicas,  and  all  those  other  Chris- 


394   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

tian  monuments  of  twenty  centuries  which  are 
to  be  met  at  every  turn,  nobody  can  fail  to  see 
how  all  this  combines  to  the  formation  of 
young  men  to  be  apostles  and  by  their  example 
and  words  to  extend  the  Kingdom  of  Jesus 
Christ.  And  that  the  North  American  Col- 
lege has  profited  by  all  this  is  shown  by  the 
inmiense  good  carried  to  the  United  States  by 
the  alumni  of  this  institute,  because  if  of  the 
eighty  millions  of  inhabitants  which  the  coun- 
try counts  to-day  nearly  one-fourth  are  Cath- 
olics, this  happy  result  is  due  in  a  special 
manner  to  the  work  accomplished  by  the 
students  trained  first  in  the  Urban  College 
of  Propaganda  and  then  by  those  (more 
than  six  hundred)  who  followed  them  in  the 
College. 

"Nor  can  it  be  said  that  these  many  millions 
are  Catholics  only  in  name  :  their  faith  is  a  liv- 
ing faith,  accompanied  by  works,  which  mani- 
fests itself  in  true  piety,  in  attendance  at  the 
services  of  the  Church,  in  frequentation  of  the 
Holy  Sacraments,  and  in  the  generosity  with 
which  not  only  the  rich,  but  the  toilers  in  town 


After  Fifty  Years  395 

and  country  set  aside  a  part  of  their  weekly 
gain  to  bring  their  offerings  on  Sunday  for 
Catholic  worship,  for  the  support  of  the  clergy, 
for  the  schools,  for  the  orphanages,  and  for 
all  the  other  flourishing  works  of  charity  and 
religion.  Of  the  living  faith  of  American 
Catholics  wonderful  and  eloquent  testimony  is 
given  by  the  magnificent  temples  that  arise  on 
all  sides  as  if  by  magic,  upon  which  millions 
of  dollars  are  being  spent,  by  the  universities 
and  other  institutes  of  higher  education,  and 
by  this  very  College,  upon  which  immense 
sums  have  been  spent  for  the  buildings  and  the 
villegiatura,  and  not  a  few  of  whose  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  students  have  been  gathered  in 
it,  through  the  generosity  of  their  Catholic 
fellow-countrymen. 

"And  besides  the  gratitude  I  feel  for  all 
these  works,  I  must  here  express  also  my  pro- 
found thanks  for  the  handsome  offerings  which 
come  from  the  dioceses  of  North  America  to 
alleviate  the  poverty  of  the  Vicar  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  in  a  special  way,  too,  for  those  most 
abundant  sums  sent  by  them  after  the  last 


396   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

terrible  earthquake,  which  afforded  me  the 
comfort  not  only  of  recognizing  the  faith  by 
which  American  Catholics  are  animated,  but 
also  of  being  able  to  relieve  such  large  numbers 
of  my  poor  children  and  especially  of  providing 
churches  for  the  many  dioceses  which  were  left 
destitute  of  them. 

"Your  College,  too,  is  admirably  designed 
for  promoting  the  salvation  of  souls,  from  the 
fact  that  the  students  educated  here  with 
students  from  the  whole  world  are  on  their  re- 
turn to  their  own  country  the  apostles  best 
fitted  for  evangelizing  a  people  formed  of 
peoples  of  the  whole  world,  and  by  their  ad- 
mirable fraternity  in  the  charity  of  Jesus 
Christ  they  contribute  to  the  true  welfare  of 
society. 

"While,  therefore,  I  thank  the  Lord  for  hav- 
ing blessed  and  fructified  this  holy  institution, 
I  send  a  salutation  of  gratitude  and  affection 
to  all  the  bishops,  priests,  and  alumni,  to  those 
who  are  far  away  as  well  as  to  those  who  are 
here,  who  contribute  to  the  success  of  this  Col- 
lege, and  I  assure  them  that  it  is  a  work  blessed 


After  Fifty  Years  397 

by  heaven,  for  which  divine  rewards  are  in 
store. 

"And  you,  my  beloved  youths,  I  warmly 
recommend  to  continue  to  correspond,  as  you 
have  done  in  the  past,  with  the  care  lavished 
upon  you  by  your  bishops  and  superiors,  so  that 
you  may  fit  yourselves  to  become  one  day  true 
apostles  in  your  country  and  to  secure  for  it 
through  the  light  of  the  Gospel  the  best  of 
all  prosperity.  Be  lovers  of  study,  but  let  the 
foundation  of  your  knowledge  be  virtue,  mind- 
ful of  the  Decree  of  the  Council  of  Aix:  *The 
ecclesiastical  teacher  should  shine  by  his  con- 
duct as  well  as  by  his  doctrine,  for  without 
conduct  doctrine  makes  him  arrogant,  and  con- 
duct without  doctrine  makes  him  useless.' 

"Remember  that  the  school  of  Propaganda 
which  you  frequent  has  made  the  apostles  who 
have  carried  the  light  of  the  Gospel  throughout 
the  world,  and  that  the  house  in  which  you  live 
is  still  fragrant  with  the  odor  of  the  virtues 
of  which  the  heart  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  who 
frequently  celebrated  Holy  Mass  there,  was  so 
full.    Let  the  learning  and  piety  of  that  saint 


398   History  of  the  American  College,  Rome 

be  ever  your  companions  for  the  happy  fulfil- 
ment of  your  career. 

"Venerable  brothers,  beloved  priests,  return- 
ing to  your  country,  assure  all  your  colleagues 
that  I  have  been  greatly  pleased  with  this 
singular  demonstration,  that  I  thank  them  for 
all  their  co-operation  in  contributing  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  College,  and  make  known  to 
all  the  faithful  my  gratitude  for  their  love  for 
the  Church  and  for  the  Pope,  assuring  them 
that  I  most  heartily  wish  them  all  happiness 
here  and  hereafter,  of  which  let  the  Apostolic 
Benediction  be  the  pledge." 

The  Holy  Father  then  gave  his  blessing,  and 
afterward  was  pleased  to  remain  on  his  throne 
while  several  photographs  of  the  historic  gath- 
ering were  being  taken. 


APPENDIX 

LETTER  FROM  THE  ROMAN 

CONSUL-GENERAL 

To  THE  Editor  of  the  "New  York  Free- 
man's Journal"  in  Regard  to  the  Proposed 
American  College: 

T  T  PON  my  return  from  Em^ope  in  July  last, 
after  having  spent  a  few  weeks  in  Rome, 
the  first  inquiry  which  met  me  from  yourself 
and  many  other  friends  was  in  regard  to  the 
proposed  American  College,  and  what  was 
thought  about  it  in  Rome.  I  replied  in  every 
instance  that  I  had  no  opportunity  of  convers- 
ing on  the  matter  with  any  persons  other  than 
His  Eminence  Cardinal  Barnabo,  Prefect,  and 
Monsignor  Redini,  Secretary  of  the  Propa- 
ganda; the  former  of  whom  granted  me  the 
honor  of  an  interview  on  two  different  occa- 
sions, upon  both  of  which  the  American  College 
had  been  the  principal  subject  of  conversation. 

399 


400   History  of  the  American  College, Roiìie 

I  am  now  fulfilling  a  promise  which  I  made  to 
you,  to  jout  in  writing  for  the  "Freeman's  Jour- 
nal" what,  prompted  by  the  conversation  I  had 
with  His  Eminence,  might  in  my  opinion  be  in- 
ferred as  the  princij)al  considerations  bearing 
upon  the  establishment  of  an  American  Col- 
lege in  Rome. 

1st.  The  first  and  most  obvious  of  these,  and 
which  must  at  once  appeal  to  the  feelings  of 
Catholics  in  America,  and  awaken  their 
strongest  enthusiasm,  is  the  honor  which  will 
redound  to  the  land  of  their  birth  or  of  their 
adoption.  There  are  in  Rome  eight  national 
colleges:  The  Germanico-Hungarian,  the 
English,  Scotch,  and  Irish  Colleges;  the  Ru- 
tene-Greek,  the  Collegio  Pio  for  converts,  the 
Belgian  College,  and  the  French  Seminary. 
There  are  two  more  in  process  of  establish- 
ment: the  Austrian  and  the  Lombard  Col- 
leges ;  and  besides  I  was  told  that  some  of  the 
South  American  states  have  one  in  contem- 
plation, and  that  a  considerable  sum  of  money 
has  been  promised  for  the  purpose.  The 
Catholics  of  the  United  States  already  out- 


Letter  from  the  Roman  Consul-General   401 

number  any  other  single  one  of  the  denomina- 
tions professing  to  be  Christians,  and  along 
with  their  fellow-countrymen  feel  proud  of  the 
X^osition  which  their  country  is  assuming  in  the 
family  of  nations.  Will  they  allow  their 
nationality  to  remain  any  longer  unrepresented 
in  Rome,  and  in  this  respect  be  behind  the 
nations  or  fractions  of  nations  above  men- 
tioned? Furthermore,  the  energy  and  activity 
of  our  people  have  not  been  confined  to  com- 
mercial and  material  pursuits,  but  have  besides 
distinguished  themselves  in  science  and  in  art. 
May  not,  then,  American  Catholics  aim  at 
achieving  glory  and  eminence  in  theology, 
which  has  been  aptly  termed  the  science  of 
sciences,  and  in  time  add  yet  others  to  the  num- 
ber of  the  distinguished  theologians  of  the 
Catholic  world? 

2d.  The  want  of  such  an  institution  has  been 
felt  here  as  well  as  in  Rome.  I  will  endeavor 
to  examine  as  briefly  as  I  can  the  merits  of  this 
part  of  the  question.  We  all  know  that  one 
great  difficulty  under  which  the  Church  labors 
in  this  country  is  the  scarcity  of  priests.    Their 


402   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

limited  number  and  their  multifarious  duties 
alike  preclude  that  subdivision  of  labor  by 
which  individual  talent  is  best  developed,  and 
each  branch  of  clerical  duty  best  performed. 
At  present  the  pastor  of  a  Church,  assisted 
ordinarily  by  a  single  priest,  has  the  charge  of 
all  its  temporahties   (no  slight  burden  in  it- 
self) ,  is  expected  daily  to  offer  the  holy  sacri- 
fice of  the  ]\Iass,  to  hear  confessions,  to  super- 
intend the  instruction  of  the  young  in  day  and 
Sunday-schools,  to  visit  the  sick,  night  and 
day,  as  may  be  required,  and  in  addition  to 
this,  to  prepare  a  discourse  for  the  edification 
of  his  congregation  on  every  Sunday;  and  to 
conduct  at  particular  seasons  of  the  year,  such 
as  Lent  and  Advent  and  the  month  of  Mary, 
special    religious    services    with    instructions 
adapted  to  the  occasion.     Can  the  same  indi- 
vidual so  multiply  himself  as  adequately  to 
attend  to  all  these  duties?    JNIust  not  each  duty 
in  turn  be  unsatisfactorily  discharged?     And 
does  it  not  follow  that  preaching,  which  in 
Catholic  countries  is  carried  to  so  high  a  degree 
of  perfection,  and  which  has  at  this  time,  and 


Letter  from  the  Roman  Consul-General   403 

in  this  country,  a  marked  and  practical  value 
of  its  own,  will  necessarily  fall  far  short  of 
what  the  exigencies  of  the  case  demand?  Let 
me  by  no  means  be  understood  as  intending  to 
depreciate  the  merits  and  labors  of  our  priest- 
hood; they  are  beyond  all  praise.  Discerning 
persons  can  not  but  wonder  that  they  accom- 
plish as  much  as  they  do,  but  I  am  confident 
that  they  themselves  feel  the  difficulties  under 
which  they  labor,  and  that  they  would  view 
with  favor  any  plan  which  would  bring  about 
an  efficient  accession  to  their  number.  Now 
this,  it  is  believed,  the  proposed  College  will 
do  for  the  w^hole  country,  rapidly,  uninterrupt- 
edly, in  the  best  manner,  and  what  is  no  trifling 
consideration,  at  the  least  possible  expense.  It 
is  not  unreasonable  to  expect  that  the  attractive 
idea  of  being  educated  in  Rome  may,  in  some 
instances,  exert  an  influence  that  by  the  divine 
blessing  may  determine  a  vocation.  Besides, 
when  the  institution  is  once  fully  under  way, 
it  will,  by  affording  a  general  increase  of  facili- 
ties for  ecclesiastical  education,  enable  the 
bishops  to  receive  all  candidates  of  whom  they 


404   History  of  the  American  College.Eome 

approve.    The  creation  of  separate  seminaries 
for  each  diocese  must  of  necessity  be  a  very 
slow  work;  funds  have  to  be  collected  for  the 
purchase  and  erection  of  the  necessary  build- 
ings; and  what  is  more  difficult,  competent 
professors  must  be  obtained  at  the  sacrifice  of 
other  purposes  of  utility  from  which  they  have 
to  be  withdrawn.    Now  newly  created  and  not 
wealthy  dioceses  will  find  in  a  central  educa- 
tional  estabhshment,    situated   in   Rome,    an 
escape  from  these  great  and  apparently  in- 
superable difficulties.    The  older  dioceses  that 
are  blessed  with  more  abundant  means  will  find 
in  it  a  valuable  assistance,  which,  by  relieving 
the  pressure  on  the  seminaries  they  already 
possess,  will  enable  them  better  to  meet  their 
growing  wants. 

But  another  great  advantage  besides  the  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  priests  will  be  that  a 
higher  tone  will  be  given  to  the  education  of 
the  clergy,  and  a  high  standard  of  excellence 
set  up  among  them  by  the  annual  incorporation 
into  their  body  of  a  number  of  men  highly  and 
carefully  trained,  and  possessing  an  instruc- 


Letter  from  the  Roman  Consul-General   405 

tion  vaster,  more  complete,  and  more  solid 
than  any  which  they  can  possibly  acquire  here. 
These  would  come  to  us  full  of  the  true  Roman 
spirit,  which  they  would  diffuse  throughout 
both  clergy  and  laity,  and  bind  both  more  and 
more  closely  to  the  great  Center  of  Catholic 
Unity.  The  Holy  See  would  no  doubt  also, 
in  process  of  time,  reap  the  advantages  result- 
ing from  a  personal  knowledge  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  our  clergy,  who  will  have  been  educated 
under  its  watchful  supervision.  Our  sem- 
inaries would  be  invited  to  extend  and  perfect 
their  means  of  ecclesiastical  education  and 
would  be  acted  upon  in  the  same  manner  as 
were,  some  time  ago,  the  colleges  and  universi- 
ties of  New  England  by  the  return  of  Everett, 
Bancroft  and  others  from  the  educational  in- 
stitutions of  Europe.  The  non-Catholic  por- 
tion of  the  community,  who  have  already  a 
traditional  idea  of  the  learning  of  the  Catholic 
clergy,  would  be  proportionately  impressed  by 
the  presence  in  our  body  of  a  number  of  men 
of  learning  and  complete  ecclesiastical  educa- 
tion, who  would,  each  according  to  his  ability, 


406   History  of  tìie  American  College, Rome 

contribute  to  the  consideration  and  importance 
of  the  CathoHc  faith.  Nor  will  these  advan- 
tages be  gained  at  the  cost  of  any  diminution 
or  impairing  of  the  commendable  parts  of  the 
national  spirit  and  character  in  those  thus  edu- 
cated away  from  Rome  ;  for  the  American  Col- 
lege, like  other  similar  institutions  in  the  Eter- 
nal City,  being  under  a  national  direction,  will, 
while  drawing  from  the  treasures  of  Roman  in- 
struction, educate  its  young  levites  specially 
for  America,  and  for  a  life  of  utility  among 
their  fellow-countrymen.  In  this  last  respect 
the  Propaganda  may  be  said  to  be  deficient, 
because  the  national  education  of  its  students 
suffers  from  their  being  confounded  with 
others  of  so  many  different  nations.  In  reply 
to  those  who  might  perhaps  say  that  the  Prop- 
aganda can  fulfil  all  the  purposes  of  an  Ameri- 
can College,  I  would  mention  here  that  it  falls 
far  below  our  necessities;  the  proportion 
allotted  to  Americans,  viz.,  one-quarter  of  the 
entire  number  of  students,  being  always  full, 
and  yet  insufficient  to  provide  for  all  appli- 
cants for  admission.    The  fact  that  English  is 


Letter  from  the  Roman  Consul-General   407 

the  mother-tongue  of  the  students  in  three  of 
the  ah'eady  existing  colleges  will,  no  doubt, 
excite  in  a  special  manner,  and  in  the  highest 
degree,  a  spirit  of  emulation  among  American 
students;  it  will  urge  them  to  rival  those  of 
Great  Britain  whenever  possible,  and  try  to 
surpass  them. 

3d.  The  last  and  greatest  consideration  is 
the  positive  wish  of  the  Holy  Father,  which 
he  has  already  expressed  to  the  bishops  of  the 
United  States.  I  was  assured  that  he  has  the 
establishment  of  the  American  College  deeply 
at  heart,  and  that  he  feels  the  greatest  interest 
in  it.  It  happens,  unfortunately,  that  the 
French  troops  occupy  at  present  several  build- 
ings conveniently  situated  for  our  purpose,  and 
it  is  not  foreseen  how  long  this  occupation  may 
last.  This  was  given  to  me  as  a  reason  why 
the  Holy  Father  may  be  prevented  from  set- 
ting apart  for  our  use  the  proper  local,  which 
may  therefore  have  to  be  purchased  by  our- 
selves. The  Holy  Father,  besides  his  blessing 
and  his  prayers — so  indispensable  to  the  suc- 
cess of  any  undertaking — will  contribute  ma- 


408   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

terial  aid  ;  but  to  what  extent,  or  in  what  pre- 
cise manner,  can  not  now  be  determined;  it 
will,  however,  be  designed  as  a  mark  of  his 
interest  in  and  approbation  of  the  work. 
Whether  the  amount'  required  to  purchase  and 
fit  up  a  suitable  building  in  Rome  be  $100,000 

^The  precise  amount,  as  obtained  from  the  "Report  of  the 
Committee  and  Lists  of  Subscriptions"  published  in  Dublin 
in  1853  by  J.  M.  O'Toole,  is  $38,874.50,  together  with  £345. 
14s.  2d.;  but  as  the  collections  continued  for  some  time  after- 
ward, additions  were,  no  doubt,  made  to  the  sum  above  stated. 
In  fact,  there  must  have  been,  because  the  Report  makes 
no  mention  of  Philadelphia,  which,  it  is  well  known,  furnished 
an  important  sum.  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  lay  my  hands  on 
any  report  of  a  later  date,  but  I  have  been  credibly  informed 
that  the  aggregate  of  collections  reached  $80,000.  Now  the 
instance  of  the  University  of  Ireland  is  one  peculiarly  in 
point  of  the  question  before  us,  because  it  is,  I  believe,  the 
only  one  in  which  contributions  for  one  and  the  same  object 
were  derived  with  such  signal  success  from  the  entire  Union, 
and  is  therefore  valuable  because  it  shows  what  our  united 
efforts  can  do. 

There  are  seventeen  States  named  in  the  Report,  and  in 
those  States,  the  following  towns  and  cities:  NEW  YORK — 
New  York  City,  Brooklyn,  Rondout,  Verplanck's  Point,  Staten 
Island,  Haverstraw,  Yonkers,  Tarrytown,  Newburgh,  Cold 
Spring,  jNIorrisania,  Albany,  Troy,  Syracuse,  Schenectady, 
Saugerties,  Utica,  Salina,  Oneida,  Oswego,  Coxsackie,  Hud- 
son, Watertown,  Plattsburgh.  MASSACHUSETTS— 
Boston.  NEW  JERSEY— New  Brunswick,  Madison, 
Morristown,  Dover,  Hoboken.  PENNSYLVANIA— Pitts- 
burgh. VIRGINIA — Petersburgh,  Alexandria,  Wheeling, 
Norfolk,  Portsmouth,  Richmond.  MARYLAND— Baltimore, 
Annapolis.    ILLINOIS— Alton.    LOUISIANA— New  Orleans. 


Letter  from  the  Roman  Consul-General   409 

or  $150,000,  it  is  undeniably  within  the  reach 
of  the  united  efforts  of  the  dioceses  of  the 
United  States.  Let  it  be  apportioned  among 
them,  a  systematic  mode  of  collection  carefully 
devised,  and  the  sum  can  be  raised  without  any 
great  difficulty,  and  without  impairing  our 
abihty  to  contribute  for  other  purposes.  Have 
not  $40,000,  or  for  aught  I  know,  a  still  larger 
sum,  been  drawn  from  the  United  States  for 
the  Catholic  University  of  Ireland,  from 
which  we  could  never  expect  to  derive  much,  if 
any,  benefit?  I  have  also  heard  of  large 
amounts  collected  for  the  erection  of  churches 
in  Ireland:  for  instance,  some  years  ago,  for 
the  Cathedral  of  Ardagli,  and  at  the  present 
time,  for  that  of  Armagh.  Did  we  not  easily 
collect  and  send  to  the  Holy  Father  at  Gaeta, 

MISSOURI— St.  Louis.  TENNESSEE— Memphis.  ALA- 
BAMA—Mobile,  Macon,  Montgomery.  GEORGIA— Savan- 
nah, Augusta,  Columbus,  Atlanta.  SOUTH  CAROLINA— 
Charleston,  Columbia.  OHIO— Marietta,  Zanesville.  DIS- 
TRICT OF  COLUMBIA— Washington.  NORTH  CARO- 
LINA—Wilmington,  Halifax,  Fayetteville.  KENTUCKY— 
Louisville,  Lexington,  Frankfort. 

A  friend  has  just  suggested  that  if  we  could  get  one  per 
cent  per  annum  for  five  years  from  the  entire  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  the  United  States,  which  is  estimated  at  3,000,000,  it 
would  make  $150,000. 


4.10   History  of  tlie  American  College.Rome 

as  a  token  of  our  filial  regard,  some  $25,000? 
Have  not  the  Catholics  of  this  city  quite  re- 
cently got  together  the  large  sum  of  $34,000 
for  the  extension  of  a  hospital?  The  idea  of  a 
national  college  is  not  altogether  new.  It  has 
before  this  been  entertained  and  discussed  by 
bishops  of  the  United  States  who  were  anxious 
to  provide  the  means  of  solid  education,  and  of 
a  vast  and  complete  ecclesiastical  learning  for 
their  rising  clergy.  But  there  was  a  diversity 
of  opinion  as  to  where  it  should  be  located — 
some  preferring  France,  some  Belgium,  and 
others  again  Rome.  Private  munificence  may 
found  a  college  for  the  special  benefit  of  the 
American  missions  in  Belgium,  or  anywhere 
else,  to  great  advantage;  but  no  number  of 
such  institutions  can  take  the  place  or  effect  the 
purpose  of  an  American  College  under  the 
shadow  of  St.  Peter's  Chair.  This  part  of  the 
question  has  been  happily  settled  by  the  ex- 
press desire  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  to  which 
I  have  already  referred.  It  now  only  remains 
for  the  laity,  as  soon  as  the  bishops  have  agreed 
upon  the  preliminary  and  indispensable  con- 


Letter  from  the  Roman  Consul-General   411 

cert  of  action,  and  have  given  the  signal  for 
effort,  to  exert  themselves  one  and  all,  and  find 
the  requisite  means.  The  rise  and  growth  of 
the  American  College  will  form  a  proper  se- 
quence to  the  first  appearance  of  an  Apostolic 
Nuncio  in  our  country;  it  will  add  another 
glory  to  the  present  pontificate,  and  endear  it 
forever  in  the  memory  of  the  Church  of  the 
United  States.  It  will  be  the  third  notable  in- 
stitution of  a  similar  great  utility  for  which 
the  Catholic  world  will  be  indebted  to  the  suc- 
cessor of  St.  Peter,  and  will  exalt  to  contem- 
poraries and  to  posterity  the  wisdom  and  pas- 
toral solicitude,  indefatigable  and  universal,  of 
the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  Pius  IX. 

L.  B.  BiNSSE. 


MISCELLANEOUS  NOTES  ON  THE 
AMERICAN  COLLEGE 

BY 

Most  Rev.  Michael  A.  Corrigan,  D.D. 

LATE  ARCHBISHOP  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK 


I 


N  1857  the  Holy  Father  purchased  the  insti- 
tution now  known  as  the  American  Col- 
lege for  42,000  scudi,  and  gave  the  use  of  it 
to  the  American  bishops,  as  recorded  on  the 
mural  tablet  erected  on  the  occasion  of  the 
opening  of  the  College. 

The  writer  remembers  visiting  the  premises 
in  March,  1858.  The  building  was  then  in  a 
forlorn  condition.  It  was  subsequently  put  in 
good  order;  the  main  staircase  leading  to  the 
Rector's  room  constructed,  and  the  building 
extended  a  few  feet  on  the  Via  dell'  Umiltà, 
occupying  the  enclosure  that  formerly  existed 
between  the  cells  of  the  nuns  and  the  outer 
wall.    The  building  at  that  time  ran  from  the 

412 


Notes  on  the  A  merican  College        413 

Via  dell'  Umiltà  to  the  Piazza  della  Piletta. 
When  the  College  was  opened  for  the  recep- 
tion of  students,  all  that  portion  facing  on  the 
Piazza  was  walled  off,  as  not  likely  to  be 
needed  ;  although  before  many  years  it  became 
evident  that  a  seminary  for  a  country  like  this 
would  require  much  ampler  dimensions  than 
the  College  now  enjoys.  This  walled-oif 
portion  was  subsequently  sold  by  the  Propa- 
ganda. 

A  general  collection  for  the  College  was 
taken  up  in  the  churches  of  New  York  and 
several  other  dioceses  on  December  12,  1858.^ 
Preaching  at  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  collection  for  the  American  Col- 
lege, December  12,  1858,  the  Archbishop  of 
New  York  said  inter  alia:  "The  present  Holy 
Father,  taking  a  deep  interest  in  the  Catholic 
Church  in  this  country,  had,  out  of  his  own 
slender  means,  instituted  and  offered  to  the 
bishops  of  this  country  a  college  in  the  Eternal 
City  for  the  United  States.  Their  offerings 
were  designed  not  to  purchase  this  college,  but 

^Life  of  Abp.  Hughes,  Hassard,  p.  401. 


414    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

to  keep  it  in  repair  ;  to  furnish  it  and  provide  it 
with  a  Hbrarj^  ;  and,  as  health  was  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  youth,  to  purchase  a  villa  to 
which  the  students  could  retire  for  recreation 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year." 

In  the  First  Provincial  Council  of  Cincin- 
nati, May  13-20,  1855,  the  subject  of  the  pro- 
posed American  College  in  Rome  was  consid- 
ered, and  a  report  of  the  committee  appointed 
to  deliberate  on  the  ways  and  means  of  pro- 
moting this  object,  etc.,  sent  to  Rome.  The 
Cardinal  Prefect  alludes  to  this  matter  in  his 
letter  of  February  16,  1857:  "Quoad  exitio- 
nem  Seminarii  Americani  in  Alma  Urbe,  per- 
suasum  habent  EE  PP  istius  Provinciae  An- 
tistites  facile  agnituros  uberrimus  fructus  ex 
opere  ejusmodi  obvenire,  quemadmodum  rei 
ipsius  ratio  evenisset,  communis  sententia  con- 
firmat,  et  experientia  similium  Collegium 
demonstrat;  opportunum  autem  erit  adnotare 
litteras  ex  mente  Sanctitatis  Suae  traditas  eo 
spectasse,  ut  omnes  collatis  consiliis,  et  juxta 
vires  opus  juvassent  vel  per  se,  vel  per  fideles 
ad  id  opportune  excitatos,  alicubi  etiam  reser- 


Notes  on  the  American  College        415 

vatis  ad  meliora  tempora  subsidiis."  In  his 
answer  to  the  Second  Provincial  Council  of 
Cincinnati,  held  in  May,  1858,  the  Holy- 
Father  again  urges  sending  students  to  Rome  : 
"Sed  probe  scitis,  Venerabiles  Fratres,  nos 
de  spirituali  istarum  regionum  bono  summo- 
pere  sollicitos  jam  constituisse  in  hac  Alma 
Urbe  nostra  gedes  pro  Collegio  Americanis 
Clericis  destinato,  ac  vehementer  optasse,  ut 
juvenes  clerici  a  Nobis  delecti  in  ipsum  Col- 
legium mittantur,  quo  ex  Romanae  Ecclesise 
omnium  matris  et  magistral  more  institutisque 
ad  ecclesiasticum  spiritum  f  ormentur,  ac  bonas 
artes,  disciplinasque  prgecipue  sacras  con- 
discant,  incorruptamque  doctrinam  ex  ipso 
fonte  hauriant,  et  in  patriam  deinde  redeuntes 
Vobis  vestrisque  Diocesibus  usui  et  orna- 
mento esse  possint."  (June  14,  1858.)  In  the 
pastoral  letter  of  the  Second  and  Third  Pro- 
vincial Councils  of  Cincinnati  thanks  are  ren- 
dered to  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  for  his  munifi- 
cence in  providing  the  American  College  in 
Rome. 

The  First  and  Second  Provincial  Councils 


416   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

of  New  Orleans  follow  the  same  course.  (Coll. 
Lac.  Ill,  pp.  241,  245,  256.) 

The  Second  Provincial  Council  of  New 
York,  held  January,  1860,  uses  the  following 
language:  "An  additional  motive  for  fostering 
this  truly  Catholic  movement  (vocations  to  the 
priesthood)  at  the  present  moment  is  the  open- 
ing of  the  American  College  in  Rome,  ex- 
pressly designed  for  this  purpose.  The  build- 
ings, including  a  beautiful  chapel,  are  the 
magnificent  donation  of  our  Holy  Father, 
Pope  Pius  IX,  to  his  children  in  the  United 
States.  It  has  already  been  opened,  and,  apart 
from  its  ecclesiastical  purpose,  its  national 
character  tends  to  place  us  and  our  fellow- 
citizens  on  an  equality  with  other  nations  which 
have  similar  institutions  in  the  Eternal  City. 
In  that  College,  the  American,  whether  he 
be  Catholic  or  not,  will  have  a  kind  of  right, 
or  at  least  recognition,  so  that  he  shall  not  feel 
himself  a  stranger  in  the  city  of  all  nations." 

Meanwhile,  as  intimated  previously,  the  Col- 
lege has  been  thrown  open  for  the  reception  of 
students.    On  December  7,  1859,  INIgr.  Bedini, 


Notes  on  the  American  College        417 

Archbishop  of  Thebes  and  Secretary  of  Prop- 
aganda, dedicated  the  altar  in  the  College 
chapel;  and  on  the  following  day,  the  feast 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  the  students 
of  the  American  College,  who  had  been  receiv- 
ing since  their  arrival  in  Rome  the  hospitality 
of  the  Urban  College,  were  escorted  to  their 
new  home  by  the  American  students  in  Propa- 
ganda. The  names  of  the  original  students 
run  as  follows  : 

Robert  Seton,  Newark 
Michael  Clifford,  Chicago 
Michael  A.  Corrigan,  Newark 
Claudian  B.   Northrop,   Charleston 
William  A.  Meriwether,  Charleston 
Anthony  Zingsheim,  Alton 
Patrick  W.  Riordan,  Chicago 
Reuben  Parsons,  New  York 
William  C.  Poole,  Savannah 
Ambrose  M.  O'Neil,  Albany 
John  Cassidy,  San  Francisco 
Thomas  Gibney,  San  Francisco 

To   these    was    added   the    Rev.    Edward 


418   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Mc Glynn,  deacon,  who  had  already  spent  sev- 
eral years  in  Rome,  and  who  was  assigned  to 
the  new  students  as  their  prefect. 

Amongst  those  who  escorted  the  little  band 
were  Messrs.  Patrick  F.  McSweeny  and  R.  L. 
Burtsell  of  iS^ew  York,  P.  Cannon  of  Buffalo, 
Francis  J.  Friel  of  Brooklyn,  John  Moore  of 
Charleston,  Stephen  Barrett,  Pittsburg,  W. 
Bowman,  Pittsburg,  Thomas  Killeen  of  New- 
ark, and  James  McGovern,  Chicago. 

Cardinal  Barnabo,  Prefect  of  Propaganda, 
assisted  at  Mass  said  by  the  Bishop  of  Guate- 
mala in  the  beautiful  College  Church,  and  de- 
livered an  address  based  on  the  words  of  the 
126th  Psalm:  "Sicut  sagittce  in  nianu  po- 
tentis/'  As  he  spoke  in  Italian,  his  address  was 
repeated  that  evening  in  the  chapel  for  the 
students,  in  English,  by  the  Very  Rev.  Father 
Bonaventure,  O.F.M.,  who  acted  as  our  con- 
fessor and  spiritual  director.^ 

^F.  Bonaventure  McLoughlin,  at  the  period  referred  to, 
resided  in  the  Convent  of  Ara  Coeli.  He  was  a  learned,  kind- 
hearted,  and  pious  Friar;  proposed,  if  memory  serves — for 
the  office  of  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Gibraltar  and  Titular  Bishop. 
He  afterward  served  as  chaplain  to  the  Irish  Zouaves  who 
fought  for  the  Pope  at  Castelfidardo,  Spoleto,  etc.,  and  was 


Notes  on  the  American  College        419 

The  learned  Benedictine,  Dr.  Bernard 
Smith,  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  College  as 
Pro-Rector. 

Archbishop  Riordan,  now  in  this  city  (No- 
vember 1, 1899)  has  refreshed  my  memory  and 
given  an  exact  account  of  the  opening  of  the 
College.  We  took  possession  on  December  7th 
— not  8th — the  Americans  from  Propaganda 
accompanying  the  original  twelve  students  to 
their  new  home.  On  December  8th  Cardinal 
Barnabo  said  Mass  and  delivered  an  address, 
in  the  course  of  which  he  alluded  to  the  num- 
ber of  sects  in  America,  and  quoted  the  well- 
known  passage  of  St.  Leo  the  Great,  in  refer- 
ence to  St.  Peter's  entrance  into  the  city  of 
Rome,  which  thought  itself  most  religious,  en- 
couraging all  kinds  of  worship,  "because  it 
rejected  no  error."^ 

On  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
December  8th,  after  dinner,  we  were  all  taken 


very  much  beloved  by  them.  During  the  combat,  he  encour- 
aged the  men  in  every  way,  and  urged  them  on  to  fight  for  the 
good  cause. 

^S.  Leo,  Sermo  de  Assumptione  Sua,  quoted  in  the  Roman 
Breviary. 


420   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

to  the  Vatican  to  be  presented  to  the  Holy 
Father,  as  we  were  taken  in  select  groups  to 
see  the  Cardinals  of  the  S.  Cong,  de  Prop. 
Fide.  The  Holy  Father  received  us  most 
graciously,  and  added  sportively  that  he  would 
be  our  Prefect  for  the  time  being,  taking 
us  toward  the  Vatican  Gardens  for  a  stroll. 
The  weather  being  unpropitious,  he  desired  us 
to  return  another  day,  and  we  hurried  back  to 
the  College  to  assist  at  Solemn  Benediction  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament,  given  by  Cardinal 
Barberini. 

Later  on,  we  had  the  privilege  of  again 
being  received  in  globo  by  Pope  Pius  IX. 
That  afternoon  also  was  rainy,  and  the  Holy 
Father  took  us  through  the  Vatican  Library. 
As  we  entered,  he  said:  "You  can  not  imagine 
what  I  have  been  doing.  I  have  been  reading 
an  English  book  by  a  physician."  Passing  by 
a  bust  of  Carlo  Magno  he  said  pleasantly, 
"Ecce  San  Carlo  Magni:  ma  non  l'hanno 
fatto  mai!"  Again,  passing  by  a  representa- 
tion of  St.  Vincent  Ferrer,  he  put  his  hand 
on  the  shoulder  of  Mr.  Riordan  (who  spoke 


Notes  on  the  American  College        421 

Italian,  having  been  already  a  year  or  more  in 
the  Urban  College),  and  desired  him  to  ex- 
plain its  meaning  to  a  less  fortunate  com- 
panion. After  inspecting  several  corridors  or 
walls  of  the  library,  we  were  conducted  into  a 
room  in  which  refreshments  had  been  pre- 
pared. After  the  little  lunch,  the  Pope  said, 
in  English:  "Now,  make  a  speech,"  at  the  same 
time  pointing  to  one  of  the  younger  students 
(Dr.  Parsons,  according  to  Archbishop  Rior- 
dan,  although  I  think  it  was  Mr.  Clifford). 
The  youth  was  too  overawed  to  say  a  word; 
and  Dr.  McGlynn,  who  was  a  fluent  speaker 
in  Italian,  made  a  ready  impromptu  reply. 
Afterward  the  Holy  Father  said,  "Now  let  us 
have  a  hurrah!"  which  was  given  with  a  gusto, 
so  that  the  Noble  Guards  in  the  adjoining 
apartment  came  rushing  in  to  see  what  had 
happened. 

The  next  students  to  arrive  in  the  College 
came  in  April,  1860,  from  Philadelphia.  They 
were  five  in  number;  all  now  dead  (1899)  but 
one.  Their  arrival  caused  a  great  commotion 
in  the  little  community.    They  were  Messrs. 


422    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

James  P.  Mooney,  Charles  O'Connor,  John 
Byrne,  Ignatius  F.  Horstmann  (the  late 
Bishop  of  Cleveland),  and  Charles  McDer- 
mott.  The  second  arrivals  were  from  Pitts- 
burg: Messrs.  Patrick  Ward  and  Edwin 
IMcGonigle.  Then  came  Messrs.  William 
Smith,  James  Nilan,  and  Francis  Roche,  from 
New  York;  Thomas  Gardner,  and  Edward 
Fitzpatrick,  from  Brooklyn.^ 

Amongst  the  domestics  of  the  early  days 
were  Francesco  Snip  and  David  Pietrostef  ani  ; 
the  latter  being  associated  with  the  College 
from  its  opening  until  his  death,  forty  years 
later. 

Among  the  amusing  incidents  attending  the 
opening  of  the  College  was  the  selection  of  the 
distinctive  College  costume.  It  was  proposed 
to  clothe  the  students  in  green  cloth,  as  a  s}Tn- 
bol  of  hope  and  increase  in  virtue;  and  some 
cassocks  were  actually  made  and  fitted  on  in- 
tending students.  Their  dismay  can  easily  be 
imagined.  One  (now  long  dead)  ventured  to 
remark    we    would    be    nicknamed    "Green- 

»Messenger  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  1896,  p.  233. 


Notes  on  the  American  College        423 

horns."  "Just  as  we,"  said  Cardinal  Barnabo, 
"are  called  'Red  Republicans.'  "  Fortunately 
the  green  cloth,  which  soils  so  easily,  was  not 
selected;  and  instead  we  received  a  black  cas- 
sock, with  white  collar  and  red  and  blue  trim- 
mings, and  small  brass  stars  on  the  straps 
fastening  the  shoes. 

On  December  12,  1859,  the  first  Pontifical 
Mass  was  sung  in  the  College  chapel,  in  honor 
of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  by  Monsignor 
Bedini,  to  whose  zeal  and  untiring  energy 
eternal  gratitude  is  due,  in  connection  with  the 
establishment  and  opening  of  the  College.  By 
virtue  of  his  office,  as  Secretary  of  Propa- 
ganda, he  was  de  jure  Rector  of  the  College, 
acting,  however,  through  a  resident  deputy. 
It  is  necessary  to  bear  this  fact  in  mind,  to 
understand  and  appreciate  correctlj^  the  ob- 
stacles to  be  overcome  before  the  Papal  Brief 
giving  autonomy  to  the  local  Rector  was  after- 
ward issued,  in  the  year  1884.  (Over  one  of 
the  side  chapels,  in  the  beautiful  College 
Church,  hangs  a  large  oil  painting  of  Our 
Lady  of  Guadalupe,  presented  by  Benedict 


424   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

XIV  to  the  former  occupants.)  It  was  a 
graceful  and  delicate  compliment  on  the  part 
of  Archbishop  Bedini,  who  had  traveled  in 
North  and  South  America,  to  sing  Pontifical 
Mass  on  the  feast  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe, 
and  so  place  the  infant  institution,  for  which 
he  had  labored  so  energetically,  under  her  pro- 
tection. 

On  the  feast  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  Jan- 
uary 29, 1860,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  said  Mass 
in  the  College  church  and  honored  the  institu- 
tion with  a  memorable  visit.  Bishop  Bacon 
of  Portland  made  an  address  in  French  to  the 
Holy  Father,  to  which  a  very  spirited  and 
eloquent  reply  was  made  in  Italian  by  the 
Pope.  He  spoke  of  the  evil  tendencies  of  the 
times,  wliich  deified  vices;  and  of  the  necessity 
of  opposing  thereto  the  evangelical  virtues, 
singling  out  humility  as  one  most  needed  and 
most  appropriate  for  the  young  levites  pre- 
paring to  battle  with  error.  Monsignor  Talbot 
attended  the  Holy  Father,  together  with  many 
prelates  and  dignitaries.  Some  of  the  students 
recited    verses,    etc.,    which    were    afterward 


Notes  on  the  American  College        425 

printed  in  a  souvenir  pamphlet.  A  copy  of 
this  pamphlet  is  preserved  amongst  my  papers. 
It  contains  the  many  and  beautiful  inscriptions 
composed  by  a  famous  Latinist,  and  placed  in 
conspicuous  portions  of  the  College.  After 
spending  some  hours  with  us,  the  Holy  Father 
paid  a  short  visit  to  the  Augustinian  Sisters 
living  on  the  opposite  corner  of  the  Via  dell' 
Umiltà,  and  allowed  prelates,  priests,  and  stu- 
dents to  accompany  him  through  the  cloister. 
As  the  Pope  passed  by  a  bust  of  Washington, 
in  one  of  our  corridors,  he  desired  us  to  give 
three  cheers,  which  we  afterward  repeated  con 
animo  for  himself.  He  was  much  amused  at 
the  vigor  of  our  hurrah. 


ALMA  MATERS 

Archbishop's  House, 

452  Madison  Avenue, 

New  York,  December  26, 1901. 

Rev.  W.  G.  Murphy, 

secretary  of  the  alumni  association 
of  the  american  college,  rome. 

Rev.  Dear  Sir:  As  you  are  already  aware, 
the  American  College  on  Thanksgiving  Day, 
November  28,  1901,  became  owner  of  the 
property  which  adjoins  the  present  site  and 
which  abuts  on  the  Piazza  della  Pilotta.  The 
College  consequently  is  now  in  possession  of 
the  entire  block  bounded  by  the  Via  dell' 
Umiltà,  the  Via  de  Lucchesi,  the  Piazza  della 
Pilotta,  and  the  Via  dell'  Archetto.  The 
special  value  of  the  new  purchase,  besides  its 
convenient  location,  lies  in  its  sunny  southern 

^Printed  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Alumni  Association 
of  the  American  College  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of 
the  United  States,  Rome,  Italy.  Seventeenth  Annual  Reunion, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  May  22,  1901. 

426 


Alma  Mater  427 

exposure,  which  m  Rome,  as  you  know,  is 
very  desirable.  The  building  recently  se- 
cured is  in  good  repair,  has  a  fine  entrance, 
a  handsome  double  staircase,  with  twenty- 
nine  rooms  on  the  second  floor  and  twenty- 
three  on  the  third.  The  purchase  price  was 
$48,000. 

As  you  will  remember  from  the  old  inscrip- 
tion still  preserved  in  the  College,  the  original 
edifice  was  erected  in  1603  by  the  pious  lib- 
erality of  Donna  Frances  Baglioni  Orsini,  who 
gave  the  premises  to  the  Dominican  Sisters,  and 
afterward  spent  the  remainder  of  her  life,  as 
a  lady  benefactress,  within  the  convent  enclos- 
ure. In  the  course  of  time,  the  Sisters  enlarged 
the  monastery  (possibly  by  adding  the  second 
cloister),  and  retained  possession  until  the 
dissolution  of  the  Religious  Orders  during  the 
French  Revolution.  On  the  restoration  of 
religion  under  Pope  Pius  VII,  the  Visitation 
Nuns  acquired  the  property,  and  remained  in 
peaceful  occupation  until  they  in  turn  were 
driven  out  by  the  revolution  of  1848.  In  1854, 
they  sold  the  property  to  the  French  Seminary, 


428   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

but  as  the  French  army  of  occupation  had 
seized  the  premises  as  a  mihtary  hospital  and 
were  unwilhng  to  withdraw,  the  Seminary  was 
unable  to  obtain  possession  and  the  contract 
lapsed.  After  many  vexatious  delays,  Pope 
Pius  IX  finally  acquired  the  premises  in  1858 
for  the  American  College.  I  remember  visit- 
ing the  future  seminary  in  the  spring  of  that 
year,  just  after  the  soldiers  had  left,  when  the 
place  was  still  full  of  reminders  of  their  occu- 
pation. The  entire  block  was  purchased  for 
$42,000;  but,  not  anticipating  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  students,  the  ecclesiastical  authori- 
ties deemed  it  sufficient  to  allot  to  the  purpose 
of  the  College  that  portion  which  is  still  in  use, 
reserving  the  disposal  of  the  remainder  for 
future  consideration.  During  my  college  days 
the  Pontifical  Zouaves  were  our  neighbors  in 
the  rest  of  the  building.  Later  on,  the  prop- 
erty was  first  rented  and  afterward  purchased 
by  Signor  Tromba,  who  added  another  story 
and  put  the  premises  in  thorough  repair.  In 
the  course  of  time  the  property  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Banca  d'Italia,  from  whom  we 


AlmaMateì  429 

acquired  it,  provisionally,  at  auction,  Novem- 
ber 13,  1901. 

A  curious  feature  of  auction  sales  in  Italy 
is  this:  After  the  property  is  assigned  to  the 
highest  bidder,  a  further  chance  to  secure  it  is 
still  left  open  to  any  one  who  within  fifteen 
days  offers  an  increase  of  one-sixth  over  and 
above  the  previous  highest  bid,  together  with 
the  payment  in  cash  of  ten  per  cent,  of  the 
principal.  This  is  what  is  technically  called 
''l'aumento  deV  sestof 

The  highest  bid  offered  for  the  premises  in 
question  on  November  13th  was  240,000 
francs.  By  offering  40,000  additional  francs, 
or  280,000  in  all,  within  fifteen  days,  and  pay- 
ing down  28,000  francs,  as  a  guarantee  of  good 
faith,  one  could  acquire  the  property,  even 
after  the  contingent  sale  ;  although,  even  then, 
the  original  bidder  could  still  redeem  it,  beyond 
all  peradventure,  by  offering  a  sum  in  excess  of 
280,000  francs.  As  no  second  bidder  ap- 
peared, the  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Kennedj^  on 
Thanksgiving  Day,  cabled  the  good  news  that 
the  College  had  secured  the  purchase.     Thua 


430   Ilistorìj  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Propaganda  owns  the  old  portion  of  the  Col- 
lege, the  American  bishops  the  new  portion — 
with  the  privilege  granted  by  the  Holy  See  of 
gratuitously  using  the  old  part  in  perpetuity. 
It  was  on  account  of  this  gracious  concession 
of  Pius  IX  and  other  similar  reasons  that  our 
Government  succeeded  in  averting  the  sale  of 
the  property  by  the  Kingdom  of  Italy  in  1884, 
when  they  seized  on  all  the  real  estate  of  Prop- 
aganda. A  letter  just  received  from  Bishop 
Farley  states  that  congratulations  have  poured 
in  from  all  sides  on  this  opportune  and  for- 
tunate purchase. 

I  remember  well  the  building  in  question. 
In  the  early  days  of  the  American  College  the 
students  used  to  amuse  themselves  by  rambling 
through  part  of  the  house,  which  at  that  time 
had  not  been  walled  off,  and  exploring  all  its 
appurtenances.  We  were  also  able  to  note 
some  changes  in  the  old  Visitation  monastery. 
First,  as  the  entrance  on  the  Piazza  was  to  be 
cut  off,  a  fitting  entrance  had  to  be  made  on 
the  Via  dell'  Umiltà,  and  this  necessitated  also 
a  suitable  approach  to  the  parlors,  which  was 


PIAZZA    PILUTTA    SIDE    OF    THE    COLLEGE 


Alma  Mater  431 

made  by  destroying  some  rooms  and  substitu- 
ting in  their  stead  the  fine  staircase  which  now 
leads  to  the  Rector's  apartment.  In  the  olden 
days  of  the  nuns  an  air  space  existed  between 
the  monaster}^  and  a  high  wall  rising  in  the 
Via  deir  Archetto.  This  wall  was  strength- 
ened, windows  pierced  in  it  and  the  rooms  on 
that  side  of  the  building  extended  to  meet  it, 
thus  nearly  doubling  their  size.  After  the 
French  occupation,  many  repairs  were  nat- 
urally needed  in  the  beautiful  church.  New 
copies  of  the  paintings  of  Our  Lady  of  Guada- 
lupe and  of  other  saints  were  procured  to  re- 
place the  originals,  which  the  good  Sisters 
had  affectionately  transported  to  their  own 
home  in  Villa  Mills  on  the  Palatine.  Later 
on  a  fine  marble  group  of  St.  Francis  de 
Sales  with  an  angel,  in  the  chapel  of  that 
saint,  was  restored  to  the  Church  through 
the  good  offices  of  the  present  venerated 
Bishop  of  Indianapolis,  then  Rector  of  the 
College. 

Nibby  says  that  this  group  was  the  work  of 
the  celebrated  Francesco  Moratti,  and  the  pic- 


432    History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

ture  of  the  Death  of  St.  Joseph,  in  the  opposite 
chapel,  the  work  of  Guido  Reni. 

According  to  the  same  author,  the  Tribune, 
representing  various  scenes  alluding  to  Our 
Lady,  the  Mother  of  Fair  Humility,  was 
painted  by  Nappi;  the  second  chapel  on  the 
right,  with  the  painting  of  St.  Michael  Sub- 
duing the  Devil,  was  the  work  of  Allegrini  ;  the 
last  chapel,  that  of  the  Crucifix,  was  embel- 
lished as  it  now  stands,  by  Donna  Anna 
Colonna,  a  nun  in  the  former  convent  and  a 
member  of  the  princely  family  of  the  same 
name.  The  architectural  designs  of  the  church 
were  executed  by  Pietro  Vecchiarelli  ;  the 
sculpture  and  hassi  relievi  by  Cavalini  ;  the  fine 
frescoes  on  the  roof  by  Cerruti. 

The  beautiful  church,  incrusted  with  pre- 
cious marbles  and  adorned  with  exquisite  gilt 
screen  work,  is  due  to  the  piety  of  the  Domini- 
can Nuns,  who  erected  it  in  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  employing  as  their 
architect  Paolo  Marucelli.  The  celebrated 
Carlo  Fontano  made  the  design  for  the  facade  ; 
the  bas-reliefs  are  the  work  of  Vincenzo  Felice, 


Alma  Mater  433 

a  pupil  of  Guidi.  The  statues  of  stucco,  in  the 
niches,  are  by  Antonio  Raggi. 

There  are  now  seventy -five  students  in  the 
College,  and  the  new  purchase  will  be  a  most 
welcome  addition  to  their  comfort,  as  well  as 
a  convenience  to  visiting  prelates  from  the 
United  States,  and  to  old  students,  who  will  be 
glad  to  revisit  their  Alma  Mater  and  drink  in 
once  more  new  inspiration  and  new  incentives 
to  piety  in  the  hallowed  spot  where  their 
ecclesiastical  life  began. 

One  calls  to  mind  what  Horace  said  of  Rome 
in  its  palmy  pagan  days: 

"Romae  nutriri  mihi  contigit,  atque  doceri." 

One  recalls  what  Tertullian  wrote  of  the 
Holy  City,  "in  which  the  apostles  poured  forth 
all  their  doctrine  with  their  blood."  It  may 
also  interest  you,  in  this  connection,  to  recall 
the  following  sentence  found  in  Hassard's 
"Life  of  Archbishop  Hughes"  (p.  406),  in  a 
letter  from  the  Archbishop  to  Abbot  Bernard 
Smith:  "As  soon  as  possible,  I  shall  write  out 
my  reflections  in  regard  to  the  American  Col- 


434   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

lege,  which,  I  think,  is  by  all  odds  the  most  im- 
portant measure  that  has  been  adopted  since 
the  appointment  of  the  first  Catholic  bishop  in 
the  United  States." 
I  am,  Rev.  Dear  Sir, 

Very  faithfully  yours, 
Michael  Augustine  Corrigan  ('64), 

Archbishop  of  New  York. 


PRIVATE  CIRCULAR  TO  THE 
ARCHBISHOPS  AND  BISHOPS 

IN  REGARD  TO  THE  ENDOWMENT  OF  THE  AMERI- 
CAN   COLLEGE 

rpiHE  urgent  needs  of  the  American  College 
in  Rome,  founded  by  the  munificence  of 
our  Venerable  Pontiff,  Pius  IX,  eloquently 
appeal  to  all  Catholics  in  this  country,  and 
will  certainly  meet  with  a  response  worthy  of 
them  and  of  the  grand  institution  which  is  to 
bind  them  still  more  closely  to  the  beloved 
center  of  Catholic  unity.  They  will  not  surely 
suffer  the  reproach  of  allowing  this  noble  Col- 
lege to  perish,  as  His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Bar- 
nabo,  declares  is  its  present  imminent  peril, 
while  other  Roman  colleges  founded  by  the 
Irish,  the  English,  the  Scotch,  the  Germans,  the 
South  Americans,  and  by  other  nationalities 
are  in  a  comparatively  flourishing  condition 
and  are  regarded  as  permanently  established. 
It  is  believed  that  the  munificent  generosity  of 
a  few  wealthy  Catholics  of  various  nationali- 

435 


436   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

ties  have  established  their  respective  Roman 
colleges  on  a  solid  and  permanent  foundation, 
imitating  in  this  respect  the  example  of  Cath- 
olics in  the  ages  of  faith,  when  the  wealth  of 
a  few  was  cordially  appropriated  to  the  found- 
ing of  the  most  splendid  establishments  of 
charity  and  of  learning.  Our  wealthy  Cath- 
olics need  only  to  be  appealed  to  in  the  proper 
way  to  secure  the  desired  result  of  such  an 
endowment  to  our  College  in  Rome  as  will 
secure  its  permanency  beyond  all  perad- 
venture.  And  as  the  time  for  holding  the  great 
Ecumenical  Council  of  the  nineteenth  century 
is  drawing  near,  we  confidently  trust  that  this 
will  be  accomplished  before  it  will  be  assembled, 
in  order  that  our  prelates  may  be  able  to  ap- 
pear with  honor  among  their  brethren  on  that 
magnificent  occasion.  Hence  (without  intend- 
ing to  supersede  or  interfere  with  the  General 
Collections  ordered  by  the  late  Plenary  Coun- 
cil, which  were  intended  to  meet  the  inmiediate 
and  pressing  necessities  of  the  College),  we 
venture  to  propose  to  our  Venerable  Brethren 
the  following  plan,  which  we  have  no  doubt 


Circular  to  Archbishops  and  Bishops    437 

will  be  fully  and  speedily  successful,  provided 
they  will  be  pleased  to  give  it  their  hearty  con- 
currence and  co-operation.  The  plan,  in  brief, 
is  for  our  wealthy  Catholics  at  once  to  endow 
the  College,  after  the  example  of  our  Fathers 
in  the  Faith,  and  of  our  brethren  in  other  coun- 
tries less  favored  than  we  are. 

We  propose,  then,  to  appoint  a  zealous  and 
efficient  agent,  and  with  the  co-operation  of 
our  Venerable  Colleagues  to  make  an  earnest 
appeal  to  our  wealthy  Catholic  brethren  in  the 
larger  cities  and  dioceses  of  the  Union  to  con- 
tribute for  this  object,  under  the  three  follow- 
ing heads: 

1.  Founders  of  Burses,  who  will  contribute, 
once  for  all,  five  thousand  dollars  in  currency, 
yielding  something  over  two  hundred  dollars 
in  gold  of  yearly  interest;  and  who  will  have 
the  right  of  selecting  from  those  who  will  be 
recommended  and  approved  of  by  their  re- 
spective bishops  for  this  purpose,  one  student 
of  the  College  forever. 

2.  Patrons,  who  will  contribute  one  thou- 
sand dollars,  once  for  all,  and  will  be  entitled 


438   History  of  the  American  Colleg epitome 

to  send  a  student  approved  of  by  the  bishop 
for  three  years. 

3.  Life  Members,  who,  by  contributing  five 
hundred  dollars,  will  share  in  the  Holy  Sacri- 
fices and  prayers  of  the  College  and  of  the 
students. 

The  names  of  all  these  three  classes  will 
then  be  enrolled  and  placed  in  a  handsome 
frame  to  be  kept  in  the  chapel  of  the  Ameri- 
can College,  and  Solemn  High  Mass  will  be 
celebrated  for  them  in  Rome  twice  a  year,  once 
for  the  living  and  once  for  the  deceased  bene- 
factors ;  besides  the  private  Masses  which  each 
priest  educated  at  the  College  will  feel  im- 
pelled to  offer  up  frequently  for  his  respective 
Patrons  and  Benefactors. 

This  plan,  if  zealously  and  efficiently  carried 
out,  will,  we  are  convinced,  accomplish  the  de- 
sired result  in  a  very  short  time.  One  Catholic 
gentleman  in  Baltimore  has  already  founded  a 
Burse,  and  others  will  follow  his  good  example. 
We  believe  that  we  can  safely  calculate  on  the 
following  amounts  to  be  realized  in  the  United 
States,  under  the  three  heads: 


Circular  to  Archhishops  and  Bishops    439 

Twenty  Burses  at  $5,000 $100,000 

One  hundred  Patrons  at  $1,000. . .        100,000 
One  hundred  Life  Members  at  $500         50,000 


$250,000 
To  secure  this  result  with  promptness  and 
certainty,  a  general  co-operation  of  our  Ven- 
erable Brethren  and  of  our  wealthy  Catholics 
is  alone  needed.  "Where  there  is  a  will,  there 
is  a  way";  and  we  have  only  to  say  that  our 
American  College  shall  be  suitably  endowed 
and  permanently  established,  and  the  object 
will  certainly  be  accomplished.  The  great 
difficulty  that  we  have  hitherto  felt  in  sending 
students  to  Rome  has  been  the  expense  ;  should 
this  plan  succeed,  the  pension  for  each  student 
will  be  very  materially  reduced,  as  the  j^early 
income  will  pay  the  salaries  of  the  officers,  the 
repairs  to  the  building,  many  incidental  ex- 
penses, and  the  balance  will  be  used  for  the 
expenses  of  the  students,  leaving  so  much  less 
to  be  paid  by  the  bishops. 

After  due  consideration  and  mutual  counsel, 
we  have  decided  to  appoint  the  Rev.  George 


440   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

H.  Doane,  Chancellor  of  the  Bishop  of  New- 
ark, and  we  bespeak  for  him  the  kind  regards 
and  earnest  co-operation  of  our  Venerable 
Brethren. 

An  immediate  answer  is  requested  to  this, 
as  it  is  desired  that  the  work  should  commence 
as  soon  as  possible.  Should  the  plan  proposed 
meet  the  approval  of  our  Venerable  Col- 
leagues, an  address  will  be  prepared  explaining 
the  matter  and  addressed  to  those  to  whom  the 
appeal  is  to  be  made,  and  published  also  in  our 
Catholic  papers,  immediately  after  which  the 
work  will  be  commenced. 
M.  J.  Spalding, 

Archbishop   of  Baltimore,   and 
Chairman  of  Metropolitans. 
James  F.  Wood, 

Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  Chair- 
man of  Executive  Committee 
and  Treasurer. 

N.  B.  Those  to  whom  this  circular  will  be 
addressed  are  requested  to  send  their  answer 
to  the  Treasurer,  Philadelj^hia. 


THE  DEVOTION  OF  THE  SACRED 
HEART  IN  THE  COLLEGE 

BY  REV.  THEODORE  A.  METCALF,  WHO  ENTERED 
THE  COLLEGE  IN  THE  YEAR  1863 

rpHERE  is  a  little  picture  which  has  been 
hanging  on  the  wall  of  one  of  the  cor- 
ridors in  the  American  College  for  more  than 
forty  years,  and  is  held  in  veneration  by  the 
students.  It  is  a  copy  of  Battoni's  painting  of 
the  Sacred  Heart,  in  the  Church  of  the  Gesù, 
Rome. 

In  the  late  sixties  one  of  the  students,  per- 
haps rather  rashly,  undertook  to  introduce 
special  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart,  which 
at  that  time  did  not  exist  in  the  College.  His 
proposal  met  with  scant  approval  and  was  re- 
garded as  a  meddlesome  effort  to  add  unneces- 
sary acts  of  piety. 

One  day,  however,  this  student  saw  in  a 
shop  window  on  the  Via  del  Babuino  the  plain 
little  panel,  without  a  frame,  and  entered  to 

441 


442   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

ask  the  price  of  it.  To  his  surprise,  a  sum  was 
demanded  which  would  require  all  the  pocket 
money  he  had  on  hand  for  the  whole  year. 
For  several  days  he  hesitated,  but  finally  de- 
cided to  make  a  sacrifice  of  his  little  store  of 
lire,  in  the  hope  that  Our  Lord's  promise  to 
increase  devotion  to  His  Heart  in  any  house- 
hold where  an  image  of  it  should  be  set  up 
would  be  verified  ;  and  he  bought  the  picture. 

To  hang  it  on  the  wall,  without  a  frame, 
looked  a  bare  thing;  so  he  resolved  to  make 
the  work  a  spiritual,  if  not  a  material,  object 
of  worth. 

He  wrote  out  a  petition  in  crude  Latin  to 
His  Holiness  Pope  Pius  IX,  asking  for  an 
indulgence  for  all  who  should  salute  the  pic- 
ture in  passing,  with  the  usual  ejaculation  in 
honor  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  The  Secretary  of 
Propaganda  (afterward  a  Cardinal)  took  the 
picture  to  the  Holy  Father,  who  blessed  it, 
and  with  his  own  hands  wrote  on  the  petition 
a  grant  of  the  desired  indulgence. 

On  an  afternoon  when  allowed  to  absent 
himself   from   the   daily   walk,    the    student. 


The  Devotion  of  the  Sacred  Heart      443 

trembling,  put  the  little  picture  on  the  cor- 
ridor wall,  near  the  door  of  the  camerata  room, 
with  a  paper  stating  the  indulgence  and  its 
conditions. 

Within  a  week  every  one  saluted  that  pic- 
ture, by  raising  his  biretta  in  passing;  within 
a  month  groups  knelt  before  it,  night  and 
morning;  and  within  six  months  Friday  be- 
came a  communion  day,  and  the  first  Friday 
a  general  communion  day. 

Our  Lord's  promise  was  fulfilled  ;  and  to  the 
present  day  that  little  picture,  now  framed  and 
with  a  lamp  burning  before  it,  is  an  object 
of  special  devotion  in  the  College.  Who 
knows  how  many  students  during  the  past 
forty  years  have  learned  to  love  the  Sacred 
Heart  and  have  become  its  apostles  at  the  foot 
of  that  picture,  bought  at  the  sacrifice  of  a 
little  pleasure! 


D 


"GIORNALE  DI  ROMA"^ 

MERCOLDI  I  FEBRAJO,  1860 

OMENiCA  29  gennaio  nella  Ven.  Chiesa 
detta  deir  Umiltà,  dagli  Alunni  del 
nuovo  Collegio  degli  Stati  Uniti  di  America 
fu  solennizzata  la  festa  del  grande  Vescovo  di 
Ginevra  S.  Francesco  di  Sales.  L'autore  di 
quel  collegio,  il  Sommo  Pontefice  Pio  IX  che 
non  aveala  ancora  degnato  dell'  augusta  sua 
presenza,  scelse  all'  uopo  quel  giorno;  il  quale 
fu  veramente  fausto  non  solo  per  quei  giovani, 
che  ardevano  di  porgere  un  attestato  solenne 
di  devozione  e  di  gratitudine  al  loro  munifi- 
centissimo  benefattore,  ma  per  quanti  ezi- 
andio hanno  a  cuore  di  prender  parte  a  que 
fatti,  che  sono  luminosa  prova  dell'  incremento 
e  della  diffusione  perenne  della  nostra  san- 
tissima Religione.  Difatti  questo  istituto,  che 
e  sorto  in  mezzo  a  cento  altri  onde  va  superba 

'The  principal  facts  in  the  Giornale  di  Roma  of  Febru- 
ary 1,  18G0,  will  be  found  brilliantly  and  eloquently  described 
in  the  "Early  Days  of  the  American  College"  by  the  late 
Reverend  Reuben  Parsons,  D.D.     (See  page  458.) 

444. 


^'Giornale  di  Roma"  445 

Roma,  centro  della  Chiesa  Cattolica,  fu  in 
tutto  quel  giorno  oggetto  di  santa  consolazi- 
one per  ogni  guisa  di  cittadini  che  trassero  a 
visitarlo.  Sul  primo  mattino,  diffusasi  la  voce 
che  il  Santo  Padre  vi  si  sarebbe  condotto  dal 
Vaticano,  una  gran  folla  vi  accorse,  e  ne  fu 
pieno  non  solo  il  sacro  edifizio,  ma  le  sale  ed  i 
coretti  che  lo  circondano.  Era  il  fiore  delle 
dame  e  del  patriziato  romano;  era  l'eletta  dei 
forastieri  che  qua  soggiornano,  Francesi,  In- 
glesi, Americani,  che  desiderosi  di  assistere  all' 
incruento  Sacrifizio  celebrato  dal  Vicario  di 
Gesù  Cristo,  amavano  ricevere  dalle  sue  mani 
il  Cibo  degli  Angeli.  La  chiesa,  ricca  di  ornati, 
di  putture  e  scolture,  era  cresciuta  in  decoro  per 
semplice  festivo  apparato.  Gli  alunni  ameri- 
cani, che  sono  nel  Collegio  Urbano  della 
Propaganda,  eransi  uniti  per  la  circostanza  a 
quelli  del  nuovo  collegio,  e  tutti  in  cotta  aspet- 
tavano Sua  Beatitudine,  che  verso  le  ore  otto 
antimeridiane  entro  nel  tempio,  ricevuta  alla 
porta  dagli  Emìnentissimi  Cardenali  Alessan- 
dro Barnabo,  Prefetto  generale  della  S.  Con- 
gregazione, di  Propaganda  Fide,  e  Prospero 


446   History  of  the  American  College.Eome 

Caterini,  Prefetto  dell'  Economia  di  essa  S. 
Congregazione,  dal  Secretario  della  medesima 
JNIgr.  Gaetano  Bedini,  Arcivescovo  di  Tebe, 
e  dal  molto  reverendo  D.  Bernardo  Smith, 
INIonaco  Cassinese,  pro-rettore  del  Collegio. 

"Il  Santo  Padre  volle  nella  celebrazione  del 
Santo  Sacrifizio  essere  assistito  da  Mgr.  Bacon, 
Vescovo  di  Portland,  negli  Stati  Uniti,  e  da 
Mgr.  Goss,  Vescovo  di  Liverpool.  Il  raccogli- 
mento, la  compunzione,  lo  spirito  della  fede 
più  viva  che  tutta  l'adunanza  penetrava, 
specialmente  nelF  atto  che  il  Santo  Padre 
veniva  corroborando  col  Pane  dei  Forti,  non  solo 
quei  giovani  che  all'  ombra  del  Santuario  si 
educano  al  ministero  ecclesiastico,  ma  tutta  la 
numerosa  schiera  delle  dame  e  dei  signori 
accorsi  nel  tempio,  fu  cotanto  sublime  cosa,  da 
potersi  meglio  concepire  che  descrivere. 

"Sua  Santità  ascoltata  quindi  la  Messa,  cele- 
brata da  uno  dei  suoi  Cappellani  Segreti,  con 
tutto  il  suo  nobile  corteggio  e  gl'illustri  per- 
sonaggi che  aveano  assistito  alla  sacra  funzi- 
one, entro  nel  Collegio.  Sulla  porta  lesse 
questa  iscrizione"  : 


"Giornale  di  Roma"  447 

"SVCCEDE  .  MAGNE  .  PIE 

O  .  ET  .  VETERIS  .  ET  .  NOVI  .  PARENS  .  ORBIS 

HIS  .  AEDIBVS   .  SVCCEDE 

QVAS  .  AMERICANIS  .  TVIS 

IN  .  ECCLESIAE  .  SPEM  .  INSTITVENDIS  .  APERVISTI 

TIBI   .  aLVMNORVM  .  COETVS  .  VNIVERSVS 

TIBI  .  AMERICA  .  TOTA  .  GESTIENS  .  PLAVDIT 

ET  .  PLACATA  .  ET  .   FAVSTA  .  OMNIA 

ADPRECATVR 

SIC  .  GREGORIANAE  .  AEMVLATOR  .  GLORIAS 

CVNCTIS  .  EPHEBEA  .  NATIONIBVS 

DES  .  DEDICES  .  FELICITER." 

"Salito  al  primo  ripiano  il  Santo  Padre  sulla 
parete  sinistra,  che  dal  rampante  della  scala 
mette  nel  corridoio  principale  si  degno  leggere 
la  Epigrafe  monumentale,  che  ricorda  ai  pos- 
teri la  istituzione  del  Collegio,  e  la  quale  e  cosi 
concepita"  : 

PROVIDENTIA 


D.  N.  PII  .  IX.  PONT.  MAX 

AMPLIFICATORIS  .  CHRISTIANI  .  NOMINIS 

QVAE  .  DOMVS  .  ANTIQVA  .  FVERAT  .  VIRGINVM 

SALESIAN 

HANC  .   ALVMNIS  .   AMERICAE   .   BOREALIS 

FOEDERATAE 

IN  .  ECCLESIAE  .  SPEM  .  DOCTRINA  .  ET  .  PIETATE 

EXCOLENDIS 

AERE  .  SVO  .  COMPARAVIT  .  CONGREGATIO 

FIDEI    .    PROPAGANDAE 
TANTI  .  OPERIS  .  INSTITVTIONEM  .  COLLATA 

PECVNIA   .   lUVARE 

CATHOLICI  .  CVM  .  EPISCOPIS  .  AMERIC  .  AN 

MDCCCLIX. 


448   Ilistonj  of  the  American  College, Eome 

"E  progredendo  il  Santo  Padre  dentro  nell' 
Aula  massima,  si  assise  sul  nobile  trono  a  dos- 
sello.  Questa  Aula  amplissima  era  nobilmente 
decorata.  Xella  parete  di  mezzo  sotto  ricco 
padiglione  vi  faceva  superba  mostra  di  se  lo 
stupendo  ritratto  di  tutta  intera  la  Persona 
Augusta  del  Sommo  Pontefice,  destinato  a 
ricordare  la  venerata  effigie  del  Munifico  Fon- 
datore. Attorno  al  quadro  erano  disposte  in 
ordine  le  seguenti  festivi  iscrizioni:" 


EIA  .  AGE  .  NOVA  .  PVBES  .  PLASVS  .  EXTOLLE 

EN  .  SVPREMVS  .  PASTOR  .  ADEST 

PRAESENTI  .  BEANS  .  SVO  .  ORE  .  NATOS. 


II 

SALVE  .  CLARA  .  LVCE  .  NITENS  .  DIES 

QVO  .  PARENTEM   .  OPTIMVM 

EXCIPIVNT  .  LAETI   .  INTER  .  VLNAS  .  FILII 


III 

QVI  .  NOBIS  .  AVCTOR  .  ES  .  COMMVNIS  . 

LAETITIAE 

NOBISCVM  .  FRVERE  .  SINCERO  .  GAVDIO 

HODIE  .  AMOR  .  ET  .   LAETITIA  .   NATOS   . 

PATREMQVE 

MAIORI  .  SIMVL  .  AMPLEXV  .  FOVEANT 


"Giornale  di  Roma'  449 

IV 

VT.  TELLVS  .  NITIDO  .  RETECTA  .  SOLE  .  AFFVLGET 

SIC  .  NOVA  .  PVBES  .  LAETITIA  .  EXVLTAT 

DVM  .  ILLAM   .  ADVENTV  .   IVCVNDISSLMO 

PATER  .   BENIGNS  .   RECREAS 


SALVE  .  PATER  .  SANCTE  .  AC  .  OPTIME 

TVIS   .  CVRIS   .   AEDIS   .   RENIDENS 

JAMDVDVM   .   GESTIT   .   PATERNI   .  VVLTVS 

SERENVM  .   VIDERE    .   IVBAR 


VI 


O  .  VTINAM  .  CANDIDA  .  PAX 

VSQVE  VIGEAT 

ET  .  MVLTA  .  PER  .  QVINQVENNIA 

TE  .  NOBIS  .  DEVS  .  FLORENTEM  .  SOSPITET. 


"Mentre  tutti  gli  assistenti  erano  serviti  di 
lauto  rinfresco,  gli  Alunni  del  Collegio  Urbano 
cantavano  con  raccompagnamento  di  piena  e 
scelta  orchestra  un  inno,  posto  in  musica  e 
diretto  dal  R.  signor  D.  Loreto  Jacovacci,  pro- 
fessore di  canto  ecclesiastico  in  quel  Collegio. 
Nella  nobile  radunanza,  che  prendeva  parte 
alla  festa,  notavansi  Sua  Eccellenza  il  sig. 
conte  di  Guyon,  Generale  commandante  la 
Divisione  Francese  in  Roma,  il.  sig.  Stockton, 


450   History  of  the  American  College, Eome 

Ministro  degli  Stati  Uniti  presso  la  Santa 
Sede,  il  sig.  Console,  e  S.  E.  il  Sig.  Marchese 
Antici-Mattei,  Senatore  di  Roma. 

"Intanto  il  Rev.  Pro-Rettore  con  tutti  gli 
Alunni  si  fecero  ai  piedi  del  Santo  Padre  a 
rendere  le  dovute  grazie  del  benefizio  insigne 
della  istituzione  di  cui  erano  chiamati  i  primi  a 
fruire.  E  il  fecero  protestando  al  Sommo 
Pontefice  che  l'individuale  sentimento  di  grati- 
tudine confidavano  essi  non  sarebbe  smentito 
dai  fatti,  che  la  Santa  Sede  e  la  patria  aveano 
il  diritto  di  attendere  da  loro.  Il  circoscritto 
ufficio  dei  giovani  fu  da  Mgr.  Bacon,  Vescovo 
di  Portland,  esteso  secondoche  richiedeva  l'im- 
portanza della  istituzione.  E.  quel  Prelato, 
interprete  dei  sensi  dell'  Episcopato  e  dei  fedeli 
degli  Stati  Uniti,  a  loro  nome  parlo  a  Sua 
Beatitudine:  e  ricordati  i  titoli  di  riconoscenza 
che  gli  Americani  del  Nord  professano  alla 
Santa  Sede,  non  potè  tenersi  dal  non  confes- 
sare i  benefici  speciali  che  la  Santità  Sua  avea 
resi  a  quelle  distanti  regioni,  ove  egli  era 
testimonio  del  progredire  che  fa  la  Religione 
Cattolica,  Apostolica,  Romana,  e  della  vene- 


"Giornale  di  Roma"  451 

razione  che  ogni  ordine  di  cittadini  nutre  per 
la  Sacra  ed  Augusta  Persona  del  Sommo 
Pontefice. 

"Il  Santo  Padre  accettando  con  Cuore  com- 
mosso tante  significazioni  di  omaggio,  ne  fu 
lieto  oltremodo.  Accrebbe  poi  il  contento  rice- 
vando  dall'  Emo.  Sig.  Cardinale  Barnabo  un 
indirizzo,  che  gli  Alunni  del  Collegio  Urbano 
della  Propaganda,  di  quell'  istituto  che  com- 
pendia in  se  la  rappresentanza  della  universa- 
lità della  Chiesa  Cattolica,  vollero  si  umili- 
asse a  Sua  Santità  quale  espressione  dei 
sentimenti  che  animano  nelle  presenti  con- 
dizioni sociali  e  politiche  quei  giovinetti,  che 
nel  successore  di  Pietro  veggono  il  Padre 
Universale  dei  credenti  in  Gesù  Cristo.  Final- 
mente gh  Alunni  del  Collegio  Americano 
aggiunsero  un'  altro  attestato  della  sentita 
gratitudine.  Ciascuno  avea  tradotte  nel  lin- 
guaggio della  poesia  le  proprie  emozioni;  e 
supplicarono  il  Beatissimo  a  non  isdegnare  di 
ascoltarle.  I  più  aveano  scritto  nella  favella 
inglese  ;  ma  vi  furono  ancora  delle  composizioni 
latine,   francesi  ed  italiane.     Delle  quali  ne 


452   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

fecero  poscia  umile  offerta  in  un  libretto  che 
le  conteneva  messe  a  stampa. 

"Il  Santo  Padre  a  somiglianti  affettuose 
dimostrazioni  non  ritenne  più  la  parola:  e 
girato  il  penetrante  sguardo  sugli  Alunni,  e  su 
quanti  altri  empivano  l'Aula,  parlo  in  questa 
sentenza  : 

"Uno  dei  primi  pensieri  dei  Sommi  Ponte- 
fici essere  stato  di  propagare  e  conservare  la 
fede  nel  mondo  :  aver  perciò  rivolte  le  cure  alla 
creazione  di  collegi  in  questa  Capitale,  perche 
da  tutte  le  nazioni  vi  fossero  educati  i  giovani 
che  nei  luoghi  delle  cattoliche  missioni  l'aves- 
sero predicata.  Lui  perciò,  con  la  fondazione 
del  nuovo  collegio,  non  aver  fatto  che  seguire 
l'esempio  dei  gloriosi  suoi  Predecessori.  Sem- 
brargli quindi  aver  piuttosto  adempito  ad  un 
dovere,  che  acquistato  un  merito.  Dipoi, 
fattosi  a  mostrare  quanto  gran  bene  fosse 
questa  Fede,  vero  dono  del  cielo,  che  solo  ci  e 
stato  largito  a  sollievo  e  conforto  delle  umane 
vicende,  in  questa  che  e  pur  troppo  valle  di 
lagrime,  aggiunse  deplorare  Lui  grandemente 
che  questa  stessa  Fede  venga  in  special  guisa 


''Giornale  di  Rovia'  453 

combattuta  ai  nostri  tempi;  e  questo  solo  for- 
mare adesso  il  suo  vivo  e  profondo  dolore. 
Non  essere  d'uopo  cercar  le  carceri  e  i  martiri 
delle  antiche  persecuzioni,  quando  ciascuno 
e  testimonio  della  guerra  che  non  dissimile  si 
fa  ora  alla  Cattolica  Religione,  e  a  chi  ne 
sostiene  la  purezza  e  la  integrità.  Non  do- 
verne noi  meravigliare  :  questo  fino  dalla  culla 
essere  stato  il  retaggio  di  lei,  che  fra  la  perse- 
cuziòni e  le  avversità  nacque  e  crebbe,  e  cosi 
continua  il  glorioso  cammino.  Il  Vangelo  di 
quel  giorno  ricordarlo  assai  opportunamente. 
Che  se  in  mezzo  alla  persecuzione  sia  d'uopo 
armarsi  di  maggior  costanza,  maggiore  ap- 
punto essere  l'afflizione  del  suo  cuore,  nel 
vedere  che  in  questa  stessa  penisola,  che  fu 
tanto  da  Dio  privilegiata  non  solo  col  dono  di 
questa  Fede,  ma  con  quello  di  esserne  il  centro 
e  di  possedere  la  Sede  più  augusta  della  terra, 
le  menti  ed  i  cuori  andavan  perdudamente 
stravolti."  E  soggiunse  :  "No,  non  ci  fa  timore 
le  armi  e  gli  armati,  ne  la  forza  di  un  qual- 
unque potere.  Non  e  la  perdita  del  temporale 
dominio  che  ne  produce  nel  cuore  la  massima 


454   History  of  the  American  College jRome 

delle  afflizioni.  S'abbiano  pure  disgraziatamente 
i  cooperatori  di  questa  perdita  le  censure  della 
Chiesa,  e  quindi  siano  abbandonati  allo  sdegno 
di  Dio,  qualora  non  si  rivolgano  alla  sua  miseri- 
cordia. jNIolto  più  ci  afflige  e  spaventa  il  per- 
vertimento delle  idee;  quest'  orrendo  male  di 
tutte  falsarle.  Il  vizio,  difatti,  e  preso  per 
virtù;  la  virtù  presa  per  vizio.  Si  giunse  per- 
fino, in  qualche  citta  di  questa  povera  Italia,  a 
far  la  vera  apoteosi  del  sicario  e  dell'  assassino  ! 
E  mentre  si  prodigano  acclamazioni  ed  encomi 
agli  uomini  ed  alle  azioni  le  più  malvage,  si  ha 
il  coraggio  di  chiamare  ipocrisia,  fanatismo,  ed 
abuso  di  Religione  la  costanza  nella  fede  e  la 
stessa  episcopale  fermezza  nel  tutelarne  le 
sante  ragioni  e  i  provvidi  benefizi.  E  disse  ora 
più  che  mai  essere  tempo  di  prenderne  le  ven- 
dette in  nome  di  Dio;  e  le  vendette  del  Sacer- 
dozio e  del  Vicario  di  Gesù  Cristo  non  esser 
che  la  preghiera  e  l'orazione,  perche  tutti  si 
convertano  e  vivano.  Il  sommo  dei  mali  esser 
pur  troppo  la  corruzione  del  cuore  e  il  guasto 
della  mente:  questo  non  potersi  vincere  che 
col  massimo  miracolo  da  operarsi  da  Dio,  e  da 


"Giornale  di  Roma'  4i55 

intercedersi  colla  preghiera.  Alla  quale  con 
parole  veramente  ispirate,  cosi  il  Santo  Padre 
era  sopra  di  se  levato,  esorto  tutti,  e  special- 
mente i  giovani  destinati  a  portar  la  Fede  nei 
loro  lontani  pasi." 

Dopo  il  discorso,  Sua  Santità  levandosi 
mentre  impartiva  con  voce  commossa  l'Apos- 
tolica Benedizione,  tutti  gli  astanti  erano  genu- 
flessi. Sui  volti  di  ognuno  leggevasi  l'ammira- 
zione, i  cuori  palpitavano,  nessun  ciglio  era 
asciutto.  Egli  mossosi,  tutti  trassero  innanzi,  e 
a  vincenda  si  sospingevano  verso  l'Augusta 
Persona,  toccando  chi  gli  abiti,  chi  le  mani,  chi 
nuovamente  prostrandosi,  a  stampare  sopra  di 
Essa,  come  potevano,  un  affettuoso  e  riverente 
Laccio. 

Scontratosi  poi  con  S.  E.  il  Sig.  conte  de 
Guyon,  Sua  Santità  si  degno  esprimergli 
riconoscenza  perche,  avendo  fatto  disgombrare 
del  vasto  locale  le  truppe  francesi  che  vi  erano 
acquartierate,  aveva  contribuito  ad  accelerare 
l'inaugurazione  di  un  istituto,  a  cui  e  legato  il 
futuro  sviluppo  del  cattolicismo  nelle  vaste 
contrade  dell'  Unione  Americana. 


456   History  of  the  American  Collegc.Rome 

Uscito  dall'  aula  il  Santo  Padre  giro  l'ampio 
locale,  compiacendosi  di  osservalo  intero  a  parte 
a  parte,  lodandone  la  distribuzione,  e  mostrando 
per  ogni  altra  cosa  la  Sua  sovrana  soddis- 
fazione. Arrivato  alla  vasto  e  ricca  Cappella, 
Sua  Santità  fu  dal  pro-rettore  ed  Alunni 
ringraziata  dell'  essersi  degnata  di  lasciare  in 
dono  il  ricco  calice  e  la  preziose  ampolle,  di 
cui  aveva  fatto  uso  nella  celebrazione  del  Santo 
Sacrifizio.  E  tornato  la  dove  la  scala  grande 
comincia  a  discendere,  di  rincontro  alla  lapida 
monumentale  ricordatrice  della  istituzione  del 
Collegio,  sulla  destra  trovo  allegata  l'altra  che 
dira  ai  posteri  la  prima  solenne  visita,  e  che 
lesse  concepita  in  questi  termini: 

"IV  .  KAL  .  FEBR  ,  AN  .  MDCCCLX. 

FESTO  .  DIE  .  FRANCISCI  .  SALESII 

Plus  .  IX.  PONT.  MAX. 

PARENS   .  ET  .   AUCTOR  .  COLLEGII   .  AMERICAE 

BOREALIS  .  FOEDER 

SACRIS  .  OPERATVS  .  IN  .  AEDE   .   N 

ALVMNOS  .  DAPE  .  COELESTI   .  PAVIT 

DOMVM   .   PROPITIVS   .   IX VISIT 

OMNES  .   ADMISSIONE  .  ET   .    ADLOQVIO   .   DIGNA- 

TVS  .  EST." 

La  semplicità  del  dettato  diverrà  più  elo- 
quente dalla  narrazione  che  ne   faranno  gli 


"Giornale  di  Roma'  457 

alunni,  presso  i  quali  la  memoria  di  questo 
giorno,  con  i  successi  di  cui  fu  ferace,  diverrà 
tradizionale  e  sarà  imperitura.^ 

^MORONI.  "Dizionario  di  Erudizione,"  voi.  xcviii,  page  26 
et  seq.  There  will  be  found  further  details  and  references  to 
other  volumes  of  the  series;  also  to  the  "Civiltà  Cattolica," 
relative  to  the  foundation  of  the  American  College  in  Rome. 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
COLLEGE^ 

IN  URBE 

/^N  THE  afternoon  of  December  7,  1859, 
^^^  about  an  hour  before  the  church  bells  of 
the  Eternal  City  were  to  proclaim  the  moment 
for  the  recitation  of  the  evening  "Ave  Maria," 
thirteen  students  of  the  Urban  College  de 
Propaganda  Fide  issued  from  the  venerable 
portal  of  that  institution;  but  not  for  a  prom- 
enade of  the  usual  kind  which,  during  the  pre- 
vious two  hundred  and  thirty-two  years,  the 
not  improbable  flores  martyrum  had  always 
taken  for  their  health  at  about  that  time  of  day. 
In  those  days  Rome  belonged  to  the  Romans. 
It  is  true  that  ever  since  the  period  of  the  first 
French  Revolution,  when  many  of  the  de- 
scendants of  the  Quirites  had  been  indoctri- 

*Printed  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Alumni  Association 
oi  the  American  College  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  the 
United  States,  Rome,  Italy,  Seventeenth  Annual  Reunion, 
Brooklyn,  X.  Y.,  May  2x?,  1901,  and  in  the  New  York  Freeman's 
Journal,  June  9,  1906. 

458 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College    459 

nated  with  the  specious  ideas  of  "Liberty, 
Fraternity,  and  Equality,"  there  had  survived 
in  the  City  of  the  Popes  an  enterprising  quota 
of  admirers  of  the  foreign  exotic;  and  in  the 
year  1859,  these  gentry,  either  sincerely  or 
hypocritically,  were  whispering  a  hope  that  the 
advent  of  "Italy,  One  and  Indivisible,"  was 
imminent.  But  the  immense  majority  of  the 
Romans,  of  both  the  plebeian  and  the  aristo- 
cratic order,  were  then  devoted  subjects  of  the 
Papa-Re;  and  not  only  were  they  imbued  with 
the  idea  that  their  city  gained  temporal  pros- 
perity through  the  presence  of  ecclesiastical  in- 
stitutions which  entailed  an  influx  of  foreign 
Quadrini,  but  that  they  felt  a  Roman  and  a 
Catholic  pride  in  every  development  of  those 
institutions,  and  every  indication  of  a  change 
in  collegiate  or  monastic  routine  challenged 
their  attention  on  the  instant  when  it  was  mani- 
fested. Therefore,  it  was  that  when,  on  the 
afternoon  of  December  7,  1859,  the  thirteen 
Propagandists  were  seen  to  be  accompanied  by 
thirteen  youths  who  were  clothed  in  a  uniform 
which  had  never  before  attracted  the  Roman 


460   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

eye — a  dress  similar  to  that  of  their  escorting 
friends,  but  with  trimmings  of  blue  in  place 
of  the  familiar  red — the  neighborhood  won- 
dered as  to  the  identit}^  of  the  strangers.  Some 
there  were,  however,  who  thought  that  the  new 
scholastic  insignia  evinced  the  birth  of  a  new 
Pontifical  College  ;  and  when  they  noticed  that 
the  little  procession,  closed  by  the  beloved 
Rector  of  the  Propaganda,  the  Abbate  Tan- 
cioni,  arm  in  arm  with  Dom  Bernardo  Smith, 
a  Benedictine  monk  of  San  Callisto,  was 
followed  by  the  gala  carriages  of  two  orna- 
ments of  the  Curia  Romana,  they  knew  that 
they  thought  aright.  One  of  these  carriages 
was  that  of  Cardinal  Barnabo,  Prefect  of  the 
Congregation  of  the  Propaganda,  who  was  to 
represent  the  Supreme  Pontiff  of  Christendom 
at  the  opening  of  the  American  College  del 
Nord,  and  w^ho,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  was  to 
be  the  cardinal-protector  of  the  institution. 
The  second  carriage  was  occupied  by  IMgr. 
Gaetano  Bedini,  titular  Archbishop  of  Thebes 
(afterward  Cardinal,  and  Archbishop  of 
Viterbo),  and  Secretary  of  the  Propaganda. 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College    461 

Archbishop  Bedini  had  been  Apostolic  Pro- 
Nuncio  in  the  United  States  in  1853;  and 
although  his  experience  in  the  great  republic 
had  been  saddened  by  continual  manifestations 
of  the  *' Know-Nothing"  spirit  which  was  then 
rampant  in  these  "Anglo-Saxon"  regions,  and 
even  by  overt  threats  against  his  life,  he  had 
conceived  an  affection  for  the  land,  and  ever 
afterward  he  predicted  a  glorious  future  for 
the  American  Church.  It  was  in  order  to 
hasten  the  devoutly  desired  consummation  that 
the  great-hearted  prelate,  immediately  after 
his  return  to  Rome,  had  urged  upon  Pope 
Pius  IX  the  establishment  of  a  pontifical 
American  College  which,  as  he  fondly  believed, 
would  aid  in  the  perpetuation  of  a  truly 
Roman  spirit  among  the  clergy  of  the  United 
States.  Pio  Nono  welcomed  the  suggestion; 
and  to  no  man  so  much  as  to  Archbishop 
Bedini  was  the  actuation  of  the  project  due. 
With  brain  and  heart  he  labored  for  the  great 
end  until  it  was  accomplished;  and  the  writer 
well  remembers  an  instance  of  the  zealous 
prelate's  muscular  exertions  even  unto  profuse 


462   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

perspiration,  as  he  endeavored  to  render  the 
long-dismantled  College  church  fit  for  divine 
worship.  A  few  days  before  the  great  event 
I  was  one  of  a  band  of  Propagandists  who 
entered  the  future  college  in  order  to  take  note 
of  the  progress  being  made.  After  a  cursory 
inspection  of  the  refectory  and  the  students' 
rooms  we  entered  the  church;  and  there,  amid 
a  cloud  of  dust,  divested  of  his  cassock,  re- 
splendent in  shirt-sleeves  and  knee-breeches, 
was  Archbishop  Bedini  polishing  candlesticks, 
scrubbing  marbles,  etc.  It  is  not  surprising, 
therefore,  that  on  the  afternoon  of  the  eve  of 
the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  six 
years  after  the  termination  of  his  American 
mission,  a  smile  of  both  gratitude  and  triumph 
should  have  illumined  the  handsome  visage  of 
Archbishop  Bedini  as  he  waved  his  hand  from 
his  carriage  as  a  signal  for  an  advance  on  the 
Via  deir  Umiltà. 

It  is  generally  stated  that  the  original  stu- 
dents of  the  Pontiifical  American  College  del 
Nord  were  thirteen  in  number.  However,  they 
were  but  twelve;  for  ]Mr.  McGlynn  was  an 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College    463 

alumnus  of  the  Propaganda,  bound  by  oath  to 
obey  the  authorities  of  that  institution,  and  he 
had  been  merely  loaned  to  the  new  college  as  a 
temporary  prefect  who  would  use  his  several 
years  of  experience  as  a  Roman  student  in  the 
task  of  initiating  the  young  Americans,  all  but 
three  of  whom  (Seton,  Parsons,  and  Meri- 
wether) were  then  strangers  to  clerical  discip- 
line, in  that  not  easily  mastered  role.  He  wore 
the  uniform  of  our  college  for  little  more  than 
three  months,  being  ordained  on  March  24, 
1860,  and  then  returning  to  the  Propaganda, 
whence  he  departed  for  his  mission  on  Sep- 
tember 26  of  the  same  year.  A  brief  notice 
of  "the  original  twelve"  may  be  acceptable  to 
the  later  students  of  our  Alma  Mater,  and  it 
shall  be  given  in  the  order  of  their  seniority. 
Robert  Seton,  of  New  York,  had  been  a  con- 
victor  of  the  Propaganda  for  two  years  when 
he  helped  to  colonize  our  college;  but  he  de- 
parted from  the  institution  on  April  22,  1861, 
and  soon  afterward  entered  the  Academia  dei 
Nobili  Ecclesiastici,  where  he  was  ordained  in 
due   time   and  was   enrolled   in   the   Roman 


Early  Bays  of  the  American  College    465 

1866.  Claudian  Northrop,  of  Charleston, 
S.  C,  left  for  home  on  August  21,  1865,  and 
was  ordained  in  the  following  year.  Ambrose 
O'Neil,  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  was  ordained  on 
April  4,  1863.  Anthony  Zingsheim,  a  German 
(Rhenish  Prussian),  was  ordained  for  the 
Diocese  of  Alton,  111.,  on  May  30,  1863. 
Thomas  Gibney,  of  San  Francisco,  was  com- 
pelled by  ill-health  to  change  climate  on  May  1, 
1860;  he  selected  that  of  the  Emerald  Isle,  and 
in  due  time  he  was  ordained  at  All  Hallow's. 
John  Cassidy,  of  San  Francisco,  was  ordained 
on  June  10,  1865. 

The  entrance  of  "the  original  twelve"  into 
their  new  habitation  was  appropriately  made 
over  the  threshold  of  the  church  of  the  College, 
that  little  gem  of  a  sanctuary  which  for  cen- 
turies the  Romans  have  known  as  "The  Ven- 
erable Church  deir  Umiltà."  His  Eminence 
the  Cardinal-Prefect,  seated  on  a  throne  at  the 
Epistle  side  of  the  high  altar,  at  once  an- 
nounced that  another  was  then  added  to  the 
list  of  Pontifical  Colleges.  The  Litany  of  the 
Saints  was  chanted  by  the  choir  of  the  Propa- 


466   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

ganda,  since,  of  course,  our  own  choir  was  in 
futuro;  then  Cardinal  Barnabo  resumed  his  seat 
and  pronounced  an  apposite  discourse,  which 
was  couched  in  terms  of  the  usual  Roman  sim- 
plicity, but  the  eloquence  of  which  still  reminds 
us  of  the  thrills  which  he  then  excited  in  our 
youthful  heart.  We  regret  that  among  the 
notes  which  we  prepared  in  illustration  of  the 
events  of  those  early  days  of  our  Alma  INIater, 
we  did  not  attempt  a  record  of  this  oration; 
but  its  significance  will  be  realized  when  we 
state  that  it  was  in  the  main  a  paraphrase  of 
that  holy  sermon  of  Pope  St.  Leo  the  Great 
on  the  natal  day  of  the  holy  apostles  Peter  and 
Paul,  in  which  that  grand  Pontiff  congratu- 
lated Rome  on  having  become,  through  the 
ministry  of  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul,  "a  disciple  of 
truth,  whereas  she  had  hitherto  been  the  mis- 
tress of  error."  It  was  through  Sts.  Peter  and 
Paul,  as  St.  Leo  declared,  and  as  the  Cardinal 
repeated,  that  "Rome  presented  to  the  world 
the  sight  of  a  holy  people;  a  sacerdotal  and 
royal  city  ;  a  transformation  into  a  principality 
which  governed  the  world  through  the  Holy 


Early  Days  of  the  A merican  College    467 

See  of  Peter,  and  a  city  which  ruled  more  ex- 
tensively through  its  religious  authority  than 
it  had  ever  ruled  hecause  of  its  worldly  power." 
The  mind  of  His  Eminence  was  naturally  con- 
centrated on  the  great  Republic  of  the  West, 
although  his  words  appeared  to  treat  of  the 
greatest  of  Empires  ;  and  both  the  present  and 
the  future  of  our  country,  mutatis  mutandis, 
were  considered  by  the  auditors  when  they 
heard  those  words  of  St.  Leo:  "And  that  great 
city,  ignoring  the  Bestower  of  its  grandeur, 
adopted  the  errors  of  every  people  whom  it 
subjugated;  and  it  flattered  itself  on  having 
become  very  religious  because  it  had  rejected 
no  falsehood.  But  just  as  that  city  had  been 
firmly  grasped  by  Satan,  so  it  was  finally  freed 
through  Christ."  Benediction  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  terminated  the  memorable  function, 
and  the  Collegio  Americano  del  Nord  had 
entered  upon  its  career. 

Until  March  3,  1860,  when  Dr.  William 
McCloskey,  of  New  York  (since  Bishop  of 
Louisville,  lately  deceased),  became  the  first 
Rector  of  our  College,  the  position  of  Pro- 


468   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Rector  was  held  by  Dom  Bernardo  Smith, 
O.S.B.,  one  of  the  three  Professors  of  Dog- 
matic Theology  in  the  Propaganda.  During 
the  first  few  weeks  that  followed  the  opening 
of  the  institution  the  learned  but  simple- 
minded  Benedictine  frequently  regaled  us  with 
anecdotes  illustrating  the  interest  which  our 
venerated  Pio  Nono  was  continually  manifest- 
ing in  regard  to  his  latest  scholastic  foundation. 
Although  fully  sensible  of  the  importance  of 
our  country,  and  consequently  of  our  College, 
we  were  disposed  to  swallow  some  of  these 
stories  with  a  fanciedly  due  quantum  of  salt; 
but  His  Holiness  himself  soon  proved  to  our 
full  satisfaction  that  Dom  Bernardo  had  not 
exaggerated — in  fine.  Pio  Nono  gave  to  us  two 
proofs  of  his  fatherly  and  pontifical  affection 
which  justified  the  Pro-Rector  in  his  proud 
ejaculation:  ''Non  fecit  taliter  onini  nationi," 
Toward  the  end  of  January,  1860,  we  were 
notified  by  the  Chamberlain-in-Chief  of  His 
Holiness  that  on  the  morning  of  the  29th,  the 
feast  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  the  Pontiff  would 
celebrate  Mass  in  our  church,  and  would  ad- 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College    469 

minister  holy  communion,  not  only  to  us,  but 
also  to  such  of  the  American  and  other  Eng- 
lish-speaking residents  in  Rome  as  would  wish 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  favor.  We  could 
scarcely  credit  the  announcement;  but  tangible 
evidence  of  its  truth  was  given  to  us  through- 
out the  28th,  as  many  batches  of  butlers  and 
other  servants  from  the  Vatican  carried  to  our 
sala  grande  quantities  of  gold  plate,  elegant 
and  precious  porcelain  services,  and  all  the 
other  paraphernalia  with  which  the  Pope-King 
furnishes  a  table  at  which  he  deigns  to  place 
such  guests  as  he  may  invite,  very  rarely,  to  a 
state  banquet.  For  Pio  Nono  had  invited  him- 
self to  breakfast  with  us,  and  our  own  presence 
was  all  that  we  were  to  contribute  to  the  feast. 
His  Holiness  had  chosen  the  feast  of  St.  Fran- 
cis de  Sales  as  the  occasion  for  his  visit  and  for 
his  celebration  of  Mass  in  our  church,  because 
it  had  been  his  custom,  before  his  elevation  to 
the  Papal  Chair,  to  say  Mass  in  that  church 
on  that  day  if  he  were  in  Rome  at  the  time. 
During  more  than  two  centuries  the  buildings 
which  we  occupied  had  formed  a  convent  for 


470  History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

the  nuns  of  the  Visitation;  and  since  the  holy- 
Bishop  of  Geneva  had  founded  their  order,  his 
festival  had  always  been  observed  with  great 
solemnity  in  the  Chiesa  dell'  Umiltà,  a  fact 
which  Pio  Xono  desired  the  Romans  to  re- 
member. The  Pontifical  cortege  arrived  at 
precisely  eight  o'clock;  a  detachment  of  the 
Noble  Guard  flanked  either  side  of  the  sanctu- 
ary, while  a  body  of  the  Swiss  Guard  formed 
two  lines  extending  to  the  church  door;  the 
prelates  of  the  Papal  Court  disposed  of  them- 
selves in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  incommode 
the  many  lay  persons  who  had  thronged  into 
the  diminutive  church;  and  our  little  band  of 
students — the  hosts  of  the  Supreme  Pontiff — 
found  place  behind  the  reredos.  The  congre- 
gation was  composed  of  the  flower  of  the 
Roman  patriciate  and  of  nearly  all  the  Eng- 
lish-speaking Catholics  then  in  Rome.  Among 
the  more  distinguished  of  the  foreigners  we 
noted  the  Count  de  Gu3^on,  commander  of  the 
French  Army  of  Occupation,  and  INIr.  Stock- 
ton, the  American  Minister  to  the  Holy  See. 
Of  course  the  Roman  Senator,  the  INIarquis 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College    471 

Antici,  attended  in  full  gala.  At  the  Mass  the 
Pontiff  was  assisted  by  Mgr.  Bacon,  Bishop  of 
Portland,  and  by  Mgr.  Goss,  Bishop  of  Liver- 
pool. When  the  service  was  completed  and 
the  Pontiff  had  deposed  his  sacrificial  vest- 
ments, he  knelt  on  a  prie  dieu  in  order  to  assist 
at  a  Mass  of  Thanksgiving.  Imagine  our 
feelings  during  that  half-hour  as  every  now 
and  then  we  gazed  on  the  beautiful  and  enrap- 
tured features  of  Pio  Nono.  It  is  a  matter  of 
cold  history  that  Pius  IX  captivated  hearts  as 
few  even  of  the  Popes  had  captivated  them, 
and  therefore  it  is  not  surprising  that  even  at 
that  solemn  time  we  could  not  turn  our  eyes 
from  him  ;  as  for  himself,  his  eyes  never  turned 
from  the  Tabernacle.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
Mass  of  Thanksgiving,  His  Holiness  arose  and 
blessed  us  all  ;  then  he  directed  his  steps  to  the 
inner  precincts  of  the  College,  followed  by  such 
of  the  Roman  patricians  and  foreign  visitors 
as  he  had  invited  to  breakfast  with  him  and  his 
American  boys.  As  we  entered  the  sala 
grande^  it  goes  without  saying  that  we  scarcely 
recognized  the  big  and  ordinarily  bleak  apart- 


472   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

ment.  The  servants  of  the  Vatican  had  shown 
a  truly  Latin  taste  in  its  decoration  ;  everytliing 
was  simple,  beautiful,  and  neat.  A  long  and 
wide  table,  some  forty  feet  long,  was  covered 
with  snowy  damask  ;  the  shimmer  of  gold  plate 
and  of  crystal  dazzled  the  eyes  ;  but  as  for  the 
edibles,  we  were  too  excited  to  think  of  them. 
However,  we  were  not  to  sit  at  the  table.  At 
the  upper  end  of  the  hall  a  small  table  had  been 
placed  on  a  dais  w^hich  was  raised  about  six 
inches  above  the  floor,  and  at  this  table  His 
Holiness  sat  alone,  as  the  Papal  etiquette  de- 
mands. Along  each  of  the  side  walls  of  the 
apartments  two  rows  of  chairs  had  been  placed, 
the  rows  being  well  separated,  and  each  chair 
affording  plenty  of  elbow  room.  These  seats 
were  assigned  to  our  laj^  visitors  and  to  the 
more  venerable  of  the  prelates.  The  younger 
of  the  ecclesiastics  and  all  of  us  students  were 
ranged  as  wall-flowers  behind  the  chairs. 
When  the  Pontiff  had  given  the  signal  by  rais- 
ing a  cup  of  chocolate  to  his  lips,  the  servants — 
and  there  were  too  many  of  them — plied  us  all 
with  eatables  ;  and  very  soon  we  felt  very  much 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College    473 

at  home,  although  the  gold  plate  did  not  seem 
very  homelike.  I  said  that  the  servants  waited 
on  us;  but  I  must  not  forget  that  one  or  two 
of  us  were  served  by  gentlemen  of  the  Noble 
Guard.  All  the  company  acted  very  much  as 
though  they  were  in  a  private  dining-room, 
although  most  eyes  were  ever  and  anon  turned 
on  the  Pontiff.  As  for  His  Holiness,  we 
noticed  that  he  took  but  one  cup  of  chocolate, 
and  ate  but  a  small  portion  of  a  roll;  he  kept 
up  a  smiling  conversation  with  the  two  prelates 
who  stood  at  his  side,  interrupting  it  at  inter- 
vals with  some  remarks  to  the  patrician  ladies 
who  sat  near  his  table.  The  breakfast  of  an 
Italian  does  not  last  very  long,  nor  was  this 
Papal  collation  an  exception  ;  but  the  chocolate 
and  coffee  were  superb,  the  presciutto  and 
other  intermezzi  were  delicious,  the  rolls  were 
almost  French,  the  butter  was  sweet,  the  fruits 
were  worthy  of  Italy,  and  the  dolci  were  the 
best  I  have  ever  eaten.  But  after  all,  not  one 
of  us  hosts,  and  probably  few  of  our  guests, 
were  not  glad  when  the  end  of  the  breakfast 
was  indicated  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  Pope's 


474   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

attendant  to  a  position  behind  his  chair;  all 
were  anxious  to  hear  the  Pontiff  sj)eak,  for  it 
was  generally  believed  that  he  would  avail  him- 
self of  the  opportunity  to  protest  against  the 
Subalpine  machinations  which  were  then  being 
directed  against  the  Romagna. 

Bishop  Bacon  now  arose,  and  advancing 
to  the  middle  of  the  hall,  thanked  His  Holiness 
in  French,  in  the  name  of  the  Catholics  of  the 
United  States  of  North  America,  for  his  foun- 
dation of  our  College,  and  for  the  great  honor 
which  he  had  just  conferred  on  its  students. 
The  Pontiff  replied  briefly  in  French,  insisting 
that  he  had  merely  performed  a  duty  when  he 
established  a  Pontifical  College  for  the  Roman 
training  of  an  American  clergy  ;  that  the  chief 
energies  of  a  successor  of  Peter  had  ever  been 
directed  toward  the  propagation  and  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  Faith  in  every  part  of  the 
world,  and  that  his  predecessors  had  ever 
thought  that  the  great  end  could  be  furthered 
by  no  means  so  efficacious  as  the  creation  of 
Roman  colleges  for  all  the  ethnological  and  lin- 
guistic   families    which    form    the    Catholic 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College    475 

Church.    After  a  concise  development  of  this 
idea,  His  Hohness  drew  attention  to  the  mel- 
ancholy fact  that  the  gift  of  Divine  Faith  with 
which  he  desired  to  see  the  great  republic  en- 
dowed— that  gift  which  is  the  principal  com- 
fort of  nations  in  every  vicissitude — was  com- 
bated in  our  day  in  a  peculiar  manner.    This 
fact  formed  the  principal  grief  of  his  Pontifi- 
cate ;  even  in  Italy,  the  possessor  of  the  Center  of 
Faith,  since  she  is  endowed  with  the  Primatial, 
and  therefore,  the  Most  August  See  of  Chris- 
tendom, the  minds  and  hearts  of  many  men 
seemed  then  to  covet  an  intellectual  and  a  spir- 
itual darkness.    "We  fear  none  of  the  armed 
forces  of  human  governments,"  exclaimed  the 
Pontiff.    "Not  even  the  threatened  loss  of  our 
temporal  dominion  is  to  be  numbered  among 
our  most  grievous  afflictions.    Let  the  authors 
of  that  misfortune  suffer  the  censures  of  the 
Church,  and  be  abandoned  to  the  indignation 
of  the  Almighty,  if  they  do  not  throw  them- 
selves at  the  feet  of  His  mercy!    But  we  are 
afflicted,  aye,  frightened,  because  of  the  pres- 
ent horrible  perversion  of  ideas  in  so  much  of 


474*   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 


attendant  to  a  position  behind  his  chair;  all 
were  anxious  to  hear  the  Pontiff  sj)eak,  for  it 
was  generally  believed  that  he  would  avail  him- 
self of  the  opportunity  to  protest  against  the 
Subalpine  machinations  which  were  then  being 
directed  against  the  Romagna. 

Bishop  Bacon  now  arose,  and  advancing 
to  the  middle  of  the  hall,  thanked  Plis  Holiness 
in  French,  in  the  name  of  the  Catholics  of  the 
United  States  of  North  America,  for  his  foun- 
dation of  our  College,  and  for  the  great  honor 
which  he  had  just  conferred  on  its  students. 
The  Pontiff  replied  briefly  in  French,  insisting 
that  he  had  merely  performed  a  duty  when  he 
established  a  Pontifical  College  for  the  Roman 
training  of  an  American  clergy;  that  the  chief 
energies  of  a  successor  of  Peter  had  ever  been 
directed  toward  the  propagation  and  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  Faith  in  every  part  of  the 
world,  and  that  his  predecessors  had  ever 
thought  that  the  great  end  could  be  furthered 
by  no  means  so  efficacious  as  the  creation  of 
Roman  colleges  for  all  the  ethnological  and  lin- 
guistic   families    which    form    the    Catholic 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College    477 

the  glorious  though  ill-fated  campaign  of 
Castelfidardo,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
destined  soldiers  of  the  Cross  would  have  been 
shared  in  the  same  manner  by  several  of  our 
"original  twelve,"  had  they  not  remembered 
that  God  called  them  to  fight  for  the  Church 
in  another  fashion.  When  the  Pontiff  had  con- 
cluded his  remarks,  he  arose,  and  in  that  ma- 
jestic and  almost  preternatural  manner  which 
was  his  own,  he  pronounced  the  words  of  the 
Apostolic  Benediction.  As  he  concluded,  his 
look,  his  tone  as  he  uttered  the  "et  maneat 
semper r  and  his  fervent  folding  of  his  arms 
on  his  throbbing  bosom — as  though  he  had 
really  gathered  thereto  every  one  of  us,  left  an 
impression  in  every  heart  which  death  will 
scarcely  efface.  He  knew  that  duty  called 
him  to  the  Vatican  ;  but  when  the  Noble  Guard 
moved  forward  as  though  to  clear  a  passage 
for  his  progress  to  the  door  of  the  hall,  he  re- 
strained them  with  a  slight  gesture,  and  the 
entire  company  then  impetuously  though  ven- 
eratingly  rushed  upon  him.  Happy  were 
those  who  could  kiss  his  feet;  many  were  per- 


478   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

force  contented  with  kissing  his  stole  or  his 
soutane;  his  graceful  hands  were  at  the  dis- 
j30sal  of  all  who  succeeded  in  grasping  them. 
At  length  he  reached  the  outer  portal  of  the 
College;  but  when  one  of  his  chamberlains 
opened  the  door  of  his  carriage,  he  smilingly- 
told  the  prelate  that  he  had  another  visit  to 
make.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  then  famous 
Augustinian  nunnery,  entitled  delle  Vergini, 
has  been  suppressed  by  the  Piedmontese  in- 
vaders of  the  City  of  the  Popes,  but  at  that 
time  this  convent,  immediately  across  the  street 
from  our  domicile,  was  the  happy  home  of 
many  of  those  cloistered  women  whose  prayers 
and  voluntary  mortifications  entailed  so  many 
blessings  on  Rome.  This  was  the  institution 
which  Our  Holy  Father  wished  to  visit;  and 
when  one  of  the  Papal  suite  rang  the  bell,  you 
may  imagine  the  astonislmient  of  the  portress, 
when,  on  opening  the  door,  her  eyes  were 
dazzled  by  the  glitter  of  the  Papal  cortege.  I 
was  immediately  behind  Pio  Nono  as  he 
stood  at  the  threshold,  and  I  clearly  perceived 
the  little  nun's  tremor,  mingled  with  joy.    As 


Earhj  Bays  of  the  American  College    479 

was  his  habit  on  such  occasions,  the  Pope  had 
sent  no  warning  of  his  intended  call  on  the 
community.  "I  have  come  to  see  you  all. 
Sister,"  he  exclaimed,  as  he  entered  the  vesti- 
bule, and  passing  by  the  reception-room, 
walked  toward  the  inner  door,  which  gave  ac- 
cess to  the  cloister.  Thoughtlessly  or  inno- 
cently, some  of  our  students  followed  the 
Pontiff  and  his  immediate  attendants;  but  just 
as  the  Papal  party  had  entered  the  inviolable 
precinct,  two  of  the  Noble  Guards,  who  had 
stationed  themselves  at  either  end  of  the  for- 
bidding door,  crossed  their  swords  before  the 
venturesome  Americans.  Pio  Nono  heard  the 
clash  of  steel,  and  turning  immediately,  he 
said:  "Allow  the  Americans  to  enter.  I  break 
the  cloister  for  this  occasion  in  their  favor." 
All  the  other  hitherto  privileged  individuals, 
patricians  and  all,  returned  to  the  street;  but 
we,  for  probably  the  only  time  in  our  lives, 
were  soon  inside  of  a  cloister,  and  in  face  of  as 
interesting,  as  healthy,  as  happy  looking,  and 
in  many  cases,  as  beautiful  a  set  of  women  as 
we  had  ever  seen.    For  a  short  time  the  Pope 


480   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

listened  to  the  expressions  of  gratitude  which 
the  Superioress  poured  forth,  the  lady  taking 
care  to  remind  His  Holiness  that  once  before, 
when  she  was  a  Superioress  in  Spoleto,  she  had 
welcomed  him  in  her  convent,  he  having  been 
the  Spoletan  Ordinary.  Whether  any  of  the 
nuns  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to 
communicate  any  private  griefs  to  the  Head  of 
the  Church  and  the  earthly  master  of  all  re- 
ligious communities,  I  do  not  know;  for  His 
Holiness  having  given  us  permission  "to  look 
around  the  convent,"  I  accompanied  some  of 
my  companions  on  that  errand.  Of  course  our 
"inspection"  was  brief.  But  we  noted  that  the 
chapel,  as  in  all  convents,  was  everything  that 
it  should  have  been;  that  the  cells  were  of  fair 
size — larger  than  some  of  our  rooms  over  the 
way — and  presenting  an  appearance  of  ex- 
quisite neatness,  albeit  in  each  case  the  furni- 
ture consisted  merely  of  a  little  bed,  one  chair, 
a  wash-stand,  and  a  kneehng-bench,  with,  of 
course,  the  ever-present  crucifix  and  a  Ma- 
donna. The  feature  that  impressed  us  the 
most,  after  the  look  of  preternatural  serenity 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College    481 

which  illuminated  the  face  of  nearly  every  nun, 
was  the  absolute  cleanliness,  the  waxlike 
purity  of  every  visible  article.  INIicrobes  were 
little  known  in  those  days;  but  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  a  baneful  one  was  hidden  in  that  con- 
vent. Truly,  the  occasion  was  interesting  ;  but 
we  had  just  begun  to  appreciate  it,  when  we 
were  informed  that  Pio  Nono  was  about  to 
depart,  and  that  therefore  we  should  now  bid 
a  farewell  to  the  cloister  which  we  had  so 
strangely  penetrated. 

The  second  and  perhaps  the  most  interest- 
ing manifestation  of  the  interest  Pius  IX  took 
in  our  College,  although  it  was  by  no  means 
the  last,  was  accorded  shortly  after  that  grand 
day  in  the  Umiltà.  We  were  informed  that 
since  His  Holiness  had  given  a  "party"  to  us 
in  our  house,  he  expected  that  we  would  make 
our  "party  call"  on  him  in  due  time;  and  lest 
any  contretemps  should  occur,  the  Pontiff 
deigned  to  appoint  the  day  when  he  would  re- 
ceive us  all,  not  formally,  but  en  famille,  in  his 
own  palace  at  the  Vatican.  Accordingly, 
headed  by  our  Pro-Rector,  Dom  Bernardo,  we 


482    History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

presented  ourselves  in  the  Papal  antechambers 
at  the  appointed  time.  We  were  not  obliged 
to  wait  for  even  five  minutes.  Without  any 
notice  to  us  of  the  Pontifical  approach,  the 
door  of  Pio  Nono's  own  sitting-room  was 
opened  ;  and  His  Holiness  came  forth,  dressed 
simply  in  his  white  soutane,  without  stole,  and 
wearing  a  red  cloak,  for  although  the  Vatican 
is  phenomenally  agreeable  in  temperature  at 
most  times,  the  day  was  exceptionally  chilly. 
After  the  usual  prostration,  the  Pontiff  ex- 
tended both  his  hands  to  us,  and  when  we  had 
devoutly  and  fihally  kissed  them,  he  laughed 
most  cordially,  saying:  "Come,  now,  gio- 
vanotti, you  were  my  hosts  the  other  day  ;  to- 
day I  shall  play  the  host  to  you.  And  I  shall 
do  so  by  showing  you  all  over  my  house."  The 
sole  attendants  on  the  Papal  person  on  this 
occasion  were  the  chief  chamberlain,  ^Igr.  Bor- 
romeo (afterward  Cardinal)  and  ]\Igr.  de 
Mérode,  the  Pontifical  Pro-Minister  of  Arms. 
Naturally,  these  gentlemen  would  have  re- 
tained their  places  at  either  side  of  His  Holi- 
ness; but  they  were  told  to  "drop  ceremony 5" 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College    483 

as  Pio  Nono  wished  to  be  at  home  with  his 
guests.  To  detail  all  that  was  shown  to  us 
during  the  more  than  two  hours  of  our  familiar 
converse  with  the  Father  of  the  Faithful  would 
be  superfluous  when  one  is  writing  for  the  edifi- 
cation of  persons  who  are  well  acquainted  with 
the  grandest  and  most  historically  interesting 
palace  in  the  world.  Of  course  we  were  not 
taken  through  the  twelve  thousand  rooms  of 
the  Vatican;  but  through  all  the  principal 
apartments,  such  as  the  library,  the  museum, 
the  picture  galleries,  the  Loggie  di  Raffaele, 
etc.,  Pio  Nono  acted  as  our  cicerone.  Certainly 
no  band  of  American  sightseers  in  Rome  ever 
had  so  careful,  so  well-informed,  and  so  ap- 
preciative a  guide.  In  the  picture  galleries  the 
Pontiff  sought  for  our  opinions  on  the  many 
masterpieces;  in  the  library  he  brought  forth 
from  their  carefully  guarded  resting-places 
some  of  the  most  treasured  manuscripts — 
among  others  we  handled  an  original  codex  of 
Dante's  "Divina  Commedia";  in  the  museum 
he  was  both  solemn  and  witty  as  he  descanted 
on  either  the  most  edifying  or  the  most  amus- 


484   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

ing  of  the  antiquities.  The  time  passed  too 
quickly.  At  length  we  could  perceive  that  the 
enchantment,  or  the  dream,  or  the  vision,  was 
about  to  terminate.  Pio  Nono  took  a  position 
in  front  of  us  all,  and  said  most  sweetly:  "Now 
I  know  that  you  want  to  say  something  nice 
to  me  about  my  visit  to  your  college,  and  about 
the  charming  time  that  you  have  had  to-day 
under  my  roof.  Well,  you  may  say  some- 
thing; but  I  must  tell  you  that  just  now  I  want 
no  compliments.  I  receive  compliments  nearly 
every  hour  of  the  day,  and  they  tire  me.  If 
j^ou  must  present  me  with  an  address,  couch  it 
in  English,  so  that  it  may  seem  strange  in  my 
ears."  We  looked  at  each  other;  who  was  to 
do  the  talking,  and  how  could  he  acquit  him- 
self in  the  present  and  in  the  suggested  cir- 
cumstances? His  Holiness  perceived  our 
quandary,  and  he  smiled  more  heartily  than  did 
Mgr.  Borromeo  or  Mgr.  de  Mérode;  if  we 
students  smiled,  the  exhibition  must  have  been 
very  faint.  Then  the  Pontiff  looked  each  one 
of  us  over,  finally  indicating  JNIr.  Clifford,  and 
telling  him  to  speak  his  piece  ;  but  the  unf  ortu- 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College    485 

nate  youth  blushed  like  a  school-girl,  and  took 
refuge  behind  the  tall  form  of  Mr.  O'Neil,  a 
proceeding  which  infinitely  amused  our  ven- 
erable tormentor.  The  Pope  essayed  a  second 
choice,  and  it  fell  on  Mr.  Seton;  but  that 
usually  intrepid  young  man  seemed  to  be  ask- 
ing the  tiled  flooring  to  give  way  beneath  him. 
Finally,  just  as  I  was  hoping  that  Dom  Ber- 
nardo would  come  to  our  relief.  Pio  Nono 
nodded  to  me,  saying  encouragingly:  "You 
have  an  open  face — voi  avete  la  faccia  franca. 
Pronounce  an  oration!"  I  can  not  now  under- 
stand how  it  was  that  I  dared  an  attempt  at 
enunciation;  but  I  did  venture,  realizing  also 
that  to  address  a  Roman  Pontiff  formally  and 
extemporaneously  is  no  easy  matter,  and  that 
to  know  that  he  understands  only  a  few  words 
of  your  speech  does  not  better  one's  predica- 
ment. I  can  not  now  recall  what  I  said  ;  prob- 
ably I  did  not  know  at  the  time  ;  and  probably 
none  of  my  companions  knew.  But  great  was 
the  enjoyment  of  the  Pontiff;  and  in  order  to 
help  me  along,  he  ever  and  anon  repeated  some 
one  of  my  words,  saying:  "Good!  that  means," 


486   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

etc.  I  never  loved  Pio  Nono  more  than  when 
he  told  me  that  I  had  "orated"  sufficiently. 
The  apartment  in  which  we  had  paused  was 
about  as  long  as  one  of  the  blocks  in  Broad- 
way; and  when  His  Holiness  waved  his  hand 
toward  the  furthest  perspective,  we  descried 
in  the  distance  a  number  of  pontifical  lackeys 
moving  around  a  table.  As  we  neared  what 
seemed  to  be  an  object  of  interest  to  these  ser- 
vants, we  heard  a  tinkling  of  glass  and  silver  ; 
and  then  we  knew  that  Pio  Nono  was  about 
to  bid  us  farewell  in  a  very  cordial  manner. 
The  servants  withdrew,  and  Mgr.  de  Mérode 
asked  His  Holiness  to  take  a  bit  of  lunch, 
handing  to  him  at  the  same  time  a  glass  con- 
taining some  liquid  which  steamed  a  little,  and 
also  a  bit  of  cake.  The  Pontiff  sipped  a  tea- 
spoonful  and  requested  us  to  help  ourselves. 
Mgr.  de  Mérode  emptied  the  glass  which  Pio 
Nono  had  returned  to  him,  and  then  imitated 
Mgr.  Borromeo  in  his  attack  on  the  cakes  and 
dolci;  the  Americans  had  already  begun  to 
show  their  appreciation  of  the  Papal  hospi- 
tality, and  they  found  that  the  liquid  was  hot 


Early  Days  of  the  American  College    487 

lemonade,  simply  flavored  with  some  delicious 
cordial.  The  collazione  was  soon  finished  ;  and 
then,  with  a  final  benediction,  Pius  IX  bade  us 
return  to  the  College  which  he  had  founded, 
there  to  continue  the  labors  which  were  neces- 
sary to  fit  us  for  the  ministry  among  a  people 
whom  he  dearly  loved.  "Non  fecit  taliter  omni 
nationi" 

Reuben  Parsons,  'Q5, 


REMINISCENCES,  1873-1875^ 

T  SHOULD  say,  first  of  all,  that  it  was  near  the 
hour  of  ten  on  the  night  of  November  2, 
1873,  that  the  present  Bishop  of  Newark  and 
myself  took  hack  No.  24  at  the  Stazione  and 
rode  down  the  Umiltà  for  the  first  time.  After 
an  introductory  interview  with  the  Rector  we 
were  shown  to  our  luxurious  apartments  and 
began  our  experience. 

Next  morning  when  we  looked  over  the 
crowd  we  found  the  College  to  be  organized  as 
follows:  Rector,  Very  Rev.  Silas  ]M.  Chatard, 
D.D.,  present  Bishop  of  Indianapolis;  Vice- 
Rector,  Rev.  Michael  Mahoney,  D.D.;  Resi- 
dent Priests,  Revs.  Ubaldo  Ubaldi,  D.D.,  and 
Torquato  Armellini,  S.J.;  Sacristan  of  the 
Church,  Don  Giuseppe,  D.D.;  Sacristan  of 
the  Chapel,  Maurice  Burke.  John  Schan- 
del  and  Joseph  O'Keefe  led  the  choir,  and 
John  Laughran  was  Librarian.  The  ever 
faithful  Davidde  was  chief  of  the  servants 

'Printed  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Alumni  Association, 

1901. 

488 


Reminiscences^  1873-1875 


489 


and    purveyor    in    ordinary    of    broda    alle 
dieci. 

There  were  three  Cameratas,  as  follows  : 


I   CAMERATA. 

Prefect,  Rev.  Louis  Hostlot 
Beadle,  Fred  Brummer 

Michael  Gleeson 
Wm.  McDonald 
John  Laughran 
Maurice  Burke 
Thomas  Mahar 
James  Curran 


II   CAMERATA. 

Prefect,  John  Schandel 
Beadle,  James  Sinnott 

Cornelius  Mahoney 
Michael  Holland 
Andrew  Byrne,  C.S.P. 
John  Woods 
Henry  Moeller 
Bernard  Clarke 
Joseph  O'KeeflFe 


III   CAMERATA. 

Prefect,  Fr.  Fitzmaurice 
Beadle,  Henry   Semple 

Michael  Brennan 
Frank  Wall 
Chas.  McDonnell 
William  Lawlor 
Denis  O'Connell 
Eugene  Donnelly 
John  O'Connor 
Edward  Conroy 
Charles  Payten 
John  Burke 
Peter  Halloran 


All,  without  exception,  were  subsequently 
ordained  to  the  priesthood.  Looking  over  the 
list  we  note  with  sorrow  that,  with  the  excep- 


490   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

tion  of  the  Rector,  all  the  priests  and  twelve 
of  the  students  have  gone  to  their  eternal  rest. 
Of  the  nineteen  remaining,  four  are  bishops: 
Burke,  of  St.  Joseph;  McDonnell,  of  Brook- 
lyn; Moeller,  of  Columbus,  and  O'Connor,  of 
Newark.  Denis  O'Connell  wears  the  purple 
and  Eugene  Donnelly  is  a  Rural  Dean.  The 
others  are  all  working  faithfully  in  their 
allotted  fields. 

Over  at  the  Propaganda  the  inimitable  Don 
Bernardo  Smith  held  the  chair  of  dogma,  while 
the  suave  Tuzi  discoursed  on  the  Sacraments. 
The  renowned  Galimberti  lectured  on  Ecclesi- 
astical History,  and  our  own  Ubaldi  taught 
Sacred  Scripture.  The  Class  of  Morals 
was  conducted  by  Dr.  Caprara.  Dr.  Segni 
and  an  Augustinian  Father  from  the  Porta 
del  Popolo  acted  as  substitutes  during  the 
illness  of  Drs.  Smith  and  Caprara  respec- 
tively. 

At  home  the  repetition  classes  of  theology 
and  philosophy  were  conducted  by  Dr.  Ubaldi. 
The  venerable  Fiorentini  was  professor  of 
music,  and  his  son,  Pippo,  the  advocate,  played 


Reminiscences,  1873-1875  491 

the  organ.  Mr.  Giuseppi  Divoti  unfolded  the 
mysteries  of  the  Italian  language. 

The  only  changes  in  the  regime  during  my 
days  were  the  appointment  of  Cardinal 
Franchi  to  succeed  Cardinal  Barnabo,  de- 
ceased, as  Protector,  and  the  appointment  of 
Dr.  Hostlot  as  Vice-Rector  in  1874. 

At  Trinity,  1874,  our  ranks  were  thinned  by 
the  promotion  of  Dr.  Hostlot  and  the  depart- 
ure of  Gleeson,  McDonald,  Laughran,  Schan- 
del,  and  Brummer.  (Laughran,  however,  re- 
turned in  the  fall  and  remained  some  months 
until  he  received  the  Doctorate.) 

The  College  was  then  reorganized  with  only 
two  Cameratas: 


I    CAMERATA 

II   CAMERATA 

Prefect,  Mahar 

Prefect,  Fitzmaurice 

Beadle,  Moeller 

Beadle, 

,  Wall 

Burke 

Semple 

Curran 

McDonnell 

Holland 

Lawlor 

Mahoney 

O'Connell 

Sinnott 

Donnelly- 

Byrne 

O'Connor 

Woods 

Conroy 

Clarke 

Payten 

O'Keeffe 

Burke 

Brennan 

Halloran 

492    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

In  this  shape  we  went  into  villeggiatura  at 
Albano,  where  the  one  notable  thing  to  break 
the  merry  course  of  our  vacation  was  the  visit 
of  Archbishop  INIcCloskey  and  Dr.  Anderson, 
the  astronomer.  In  September,  Sinnott  caught 
the  fever  and  hied  himself  home  to  his  native 
heath,  whence  he  returned  not  until  Christmas. 
Brennan  caught  a  heavy  cold  the  night  we 
ascended  Monte  Cavo  to  see  the  sun  rise,  and 
on  account  of  his  subsequent  illness  he  was  or- 
dained ahead  of  his  class  and  sent  home,  with 
slender  chances  of  recovery. 

As  we  all  know,  the  social  side  of  the  College 
finds  its  supreme  expression  in  the  mix.  We 
had  our  mixes,  but  really,  the  only  thing  I  can 
definitely  remember  about  them  is  Mahar's 
"Row,  row,  row!"  There  was  also  a  solo,  "Be- 
loved Star,"  which  was  suppressed  by  lawful 
authority. 

You  remember  the  Salone  and  how  sacred 
a  place  it  was.  We  got  in  there  once  that  I 
am  sure  of,  and  that  was  for  the  purpose  of 
presenting  a  purse  we  had  gathered  among 
ourselves  to  Dr.  Ubaldi  on  the  eve  of  his  de- 


Reminiscences,  1873-1875  493 

parture  for  New  York,  for  he  had  been  chosen 
to  accompany  Monsignor  Roncetti,  who  was 
bearer  of  the  biretta  to  the  first  American  Car- 
dinal. This  was  in  the  sjiring  of  1875.  I  saw 
the  Salone  in  1893. 

Our  chief  sport  was  baseball.  In  my  time 
we  had  two  celebrated  clubs,  the  Quid-sihi- 
vults  and  the  Prosits.  The  batteries  were 
Mahar  and  Holland,  Mahoney  and  Burke. 
Umpire,  Clarke.  The  seminarians  of  Seton 
Hall,  New  Jersey,  were  kind  enough  to  send 
us  some  balls  and  bats,  in  return  for  which  we 
sent  them  resolutions  of  thanks,  approved  in 
open  meeting,  and  signed  by  the  committee. 
The  action  of  the  Seton  Hall  boys  should  be 
imitated.  I  might  mention  that  the  bats  were 
bored  full  of  holes  by  the  customs  officers. 
What  were  they  looking  for? 

Perhaps  the  most  sensational  event  during 
my  time  was  the  arrival,  in  June,  1874,  of  the 
First  American  Pilgrimage,  headed  by  Bishop 
Dwenger,  of  Fort  Wayne.  Naturally  we  were 
greatly  excited.  Many  of  the  pilgrims  had 
personal  friends  in  the  College,  and  their  com- 


494   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

ing  was  like  a  visit  from  our  own.  Dr.  Cha- 
tard  extended  the  hospitality  of  the  house  and 
gave  the  pilgrims  a  grand  banquet.  When 
they  had  their  audience  with  the  Holy  Father 
we  were  admitted,  and  when  Cardinal  Franchi 
said  JNIass  for  them  in  the  newly  excavated 
basilica  of  St.  Petronilla  we  were  there  and 
shared  with  them  the  hospitality  of  ^Monsignor 
de  Mérode,  Almoner  of  His  Holiness.  In 
fact,  we  were  identified  with  them  all  through. 
JNIany  of  them  were  present  with  us  in  St. 
Peter's  on  June  21,  when  the  Pope  came 
down  secretly  to  the  Loggia  to  hear  the  Te 
Deum  on  the  anniversary  of  his  coronation, 
and  were  with  us  afterward  on  the  piazza  when 
that  great  demonstration  was  started  by  some 
one  who  caught  sight  of  the  Pope  as  he  passed 
a  window  on  his  return.  It  was  like  a  cyclone. 
In  five  minutes  there  were  forty  thousand 
tliroats  shouting,  "Viva  Pio  Nono,  Pontefice 
e  Re!"  Enthusiasm?  I  never  took  part  in 
anything  like  it  before  or  since.  Hundreds 
were  arrested  for  treason.  The  incident  was 
deemed  of  such  importance  that  notice  of  it 


ReminiscenceSj  1873-1875  495 

was  conveyed  officially  to  the  European  gov- 
ernments by  representatives  of  the  Vatican. 
Among  those  arrested  was  a  niece  of  W.  E. 
Gladstone. 

The  year  1875  was  the  year  of  the  great 
Jubilee.  With  the  fervor  of  youth  we  started 
out  to  make  the  fifteen  visits  to  the  four  great 
basilicas  on  foot.  We  made  the  journey  twice. 
Then  our  fervor  slackened.  Finally  we  made 
four  visits  to  three  churches  in  a  bee-line — the 
Chiesa  Nuova,  Sta.  Maria  in  Traspontina,  and 
St.  Peter's. 

The  only  shadow  which  fell  across  our  days 
was  the  death  of  Dr.  Mahoney,  which  occurred 
in  the  early  part  of  1874.  He  had  suffered 
long  and  patiently.  We  were  brought  very 
near  to  him  through  being  appointed  in  turn 
to  nurse  him  through  the  night,  and  as  with 
young  men  of  our  kind  sympathy  and  affec- 
tion are  very  close  together,  he  became  very 
dear  to  us.  Don  Giuseppe  administered  the 
last  sacraments  to  him,  and  attended  by  his 
brother,  Cornelius,  and  surrounded  by  the 
priests  of  the  house,  he  peacefully  quit  this 


496   History  of  the  American  CollegeMome 

life.      Our   prayers   followed   him.      He   lies 
buried  in  St.  Lorenzo. 

After  the  Trinity  ordinations  in  1875, 
Mahar,  Burke,  Holland,  Byrne,  and  Brennan 
bade  farewell  to  Alma  Mater  and  left  just 
nineteen  affectionate  friends  behind  to  mourn 
their  departure. 

In  all  my  time  we  had  received  no  recruits. 

JMay  the  sun  shine  bright  upon  the  old  house, 
and  may  the  Blessed  Mother  of  God  smile 
upon  its  inmates. 

Rev.  M.  J.  Brennan,  '75. 

November  21,  1901. 


MUSICAL  REMINISCENCES 

1878-1884' 

Ohall  I  ever  forget  the  night  we  landed  in 
^  Monte  Porzio,  in  October,  1878?  The 
College  had  dwindled  down  to  fifteen  students, 
and  within  a  week  seventeen  neophytes,  fresh 
(very  fresh)  from  America,  had  arrived  and 
changed  the  whole  spirit  of  the  house. 

We  were  greeted  at  the  door  by  a  Philadel- 
phian,  and  our  spokesman,  a  Bostonian,  eyeing 
the  door-opener  suspiciously,  said:  *'We  wish 
to  see  Father  Ward."  The  urbane  deacon 
answered:  "There  is  no  such  person  living 
here."  To  the  reverend  gentleman's  surprise 
the  tall  spokesman,  getting  red  in  the  face,  said 
in  a  determined  tone:  "See  here,  young  fellow, 
we  want  no  shenanigan  from  students;  you 
just  call  Father  Ward."  The  deacon  went  off 
very  much  amused,  and  we  heard  hearty 
laughter  in  a  few  moments  from  a  room  up- 
stairs. 

^Printed  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Alumni  Association  of 
the  American  College,  1901. 

497 


498   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Doctor  Wall,  the  Vice-Rector,  happened  to 
be  the  Father  Ward  for  whom  we  were  look- 
ing, and  he  gave  us  a  welcome  that  made  us 
feel  quite  at  home.  How  dehghted  Burke,  and 
McElhinney  (God  rest  him),  and  Degnan, 
and  McDevitt,  and  all  the  rest  of  them  were 
to  see  some  one  from  home  !  How  pleased  they 
were  when  they  found  that  among  the  new- 
comers were  several  who  had  good  voices  and 
could  sing  the  latest  popular  songs.  At  the 
"mix"  that  night  Dr.  Wall  sang  "Grimes' 
Cellar  Door";  Talbot,  "My  Grandfather's 
Clock";  Walsh,  "Nancy  Lee";  McLoughlin, 
"McCarty's  Mare";  Crowley,  "See  that  My 
Grave  Is  Kept  Green";  Curry,  "Die  Wacht 
am  Rhein";  Keating,  "Under  the  Willows 
She's  Sleeping";  Connolly,  "Close  the  Shut- 
ters, Willie's  Dead";  Tierney,  "Little  Foot- 
steps"; McManus,  "Too  Late";  McElhinney, 
"Dashing  Through  the  Snow"  ;  Degnan,  "Ella 
Rhee";  Burke,  * 'Santa  Lucia"  ;  McGolrick, 
"Old  Black  Joe";  and  McDevitt,  "The 
Daughter  of  Daniel  O'Connell,"  in  which  we 


Musical  Reminiscences  490 

all  joined  in  the  chorus  of  "N'Yaah"  sung  with 
the  nose. 

I  can  well  remember  that  night  as  one  of  the 
pleasantest  memories  of  my  stay  in  the  Ameri- 
can College.  They  had  a  happy  little  family 
there  till  the  new  element  that  refused  to  be 
absorbed  came  along  ;  for  the  old  students  said 
we  were  not  spiritual,  but  rather  a  frivolous, 
worldly  set  of  youths,  half-baked  as  it  were. 
There  were  occasional  discords  in  the  harmony, 
but  as  the  months  went  by  those  accidental  dis- 
cords proved  to  be  like  some  of  the  Wagnerian 
dissonant  chords  that  quickly  melt  into  perfect 
harmony  and  make  such  harmony  all  the  more 
accentuated  and  beautiful.  When  we  returned 
to  the  Umiltà  we  were  introduced  to  old  Papa 
Fiorentini,  then  in  his  seventy-fourth  year. 
How  well  we  recollect  the  "Old  Man,"  as  we 
called  him.  Venerable  in  appearance,  gentle  in 
manner,  and  with  traces  of  a  basso  profundo 
that  was  a  marvel  in  his  day,  we  all  liked  him, 
though  we  looked  upon  the  chant  class  as  a 
farce. 


500   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

Adesso^  commi?! damo f     Come  si  chiama?''* 

Si  chiama  Tommaso,  professore.'^ 

Ahy    bravo,    Don    Tommaso.      Quot    claves    sunt  ?     Ce   la 

chiave  di  Do,  e  la  chiave  di  Fa.     Allora  commincianio, 

incipiavius.  '  ' 

The  old  man  knew  a  few  phrases  in  Latin, 
and  invariably  used  them  for  the  benefit  of  the 
new  students,  but  quickly  lapsed  into  his 
mother-tongue.  After  singing  for  five  min- 
utes, he  would  call  for  "un  poco  di  pausa" 
and  regale  us  with  the  story  of  why  he  left  the 
operatic  stage  and  joined  the  church  choirs, 
because,  namely,  some  jealous  rival  had  said 
of  him:  ''Puzza  della  sagrestia"  and  so  he  de- 
termined to  stick  to  the  Chiesa. 

Sometimes  with  a  sigh  he  would  say:  ''Ehi 
figli;  sono  vecchio,  cupio  dissolvi"  but  some 
of  the  irreverent  scholars,  knowing  his  repu- 
tation for  gathering  in  money,  translated  this 
into  "Cupio  dei  soldi" 

However,  "Peace  to  his  ashes,"  as  also  to 
Pippo  of  the  harsh  voice,  who  followed  him 
a  few  years  later.  Between  ourselves,  that 
chant  class  was  a  humbug,  and  very  few  who 
left  the  American  College  during  our  time 


Musical  Reminiscences  501 

knew  much  about  Gregorian  chant.  Some  were 
quite  content  to  be  able  to  sing  the  "Preface" 
and  the  *Tater  Noster."  I  had  the  task  of  train- 
ing one  ''stuonato''  to  sing  his  first  ''Ite  Missa 
est"  as  a  deacon,  and  spent  weeks  at  it.  You 
ought  to  have  heard  him!  He  sang  the  re- 
quired number  of  notes,  to  be  sure,  but  in  a 
rather  mixed-up  order,  so  that  one  could  not 
tell  if  it  were  "in  solemnihus"  or  "in  partihus" 
Another  deacon  in  our  time  who  prided  him- 
self on  his  sweet  voice  practised  the  "Ite  Missa 
est"  for  his  first  appearance,  but  pride  must 
have  a  fall  ;  to  the  great  amusement  of  every- 
body he  sang  "Deo  Gratias"  Te  Pas  suc- 
ceeded Tobin  as  choir-master,  and  he  took 
quite  an  interest  in  the  work,  but  I  regret  to 
say  we  did  not  correspond  to  his  endeavors. 
He  was  an  enthusiast  over  plain  chant,  but  had 
the  misfortune  to  make  one  awful  break,  for 
which  he  was  never  fully  forgiven.  When 
Christmas  came  he  upset  an  old  tradition  and 
taught  us  the  Gregorian  "Jesu  Eedemptor" 
instead  of  the  rollicking  jig  tune  to  which  it 
had  been  sung  for  centuries  in  Rome,  and 


502   History  of  the  American  College jRome 

which  air  is  indeed  very  pretty  when  sung  in 
"tempo  moderato"  The  Rector  was  "mad," 
and  it  was  never  sung  a  second  time.  It  was 
under  Te  Pas'  leadership,  I  think,  that  we 
started  to  sing  the  grace  before  and  after 
meals,  like  the  students  of  the  German  College. 
The  Rector,  Mgr.  Hostlot,  was  very  fond  of 
music,  so  much  so,  that  we  could  judge  of  his 
happy  or  his  melancholy  moments  by  listening 
to  him  as  he  sang  to  his  own  accompaniment  in 
the  Sala.  If  it  was  the  "Wearing  of  the 
Green"  he  was  feeling  good,  and  you  could 
brace  him  for  permission  to  go  out  with  a  dea- 
con. If  it  was  "il  tuo  vecchio  genitor,  tu  non 
sai  quanto  soffri''  we  would  not  dare  look 
toward  the  Sala  windows.  His  love  for  music 
took  strange  fancies  at  times.  For  instance, 
during  a  period  extending  over  three  months 
we  were  obliged  to  sing  the  "Te  Deum"  the 
first  thing  in  the  morning  before  meditation — 
but  don't  let  me  get  started  on  meditation — you 
all  remember  our  meditations  on  cold  winter 
mornings,  or  if  you  don't,  you  remember  at 
least  the   distractions.     At  another  time  we 


Musical  Reminiscences  503 

were  ordered  to  sing  the  Psalms  during  Mass, 
and  were  obliged  to  take  turns  at  intoning  the 
same.  Shall  those  who  were  present  ever  for- 
get how  this  practice  came  to  a  sudden  ending? 
A  certain  student  who  was  remarkable  for  the 
earnestness  and  vigor  of  his  singing,  rather 
than  for  his  correct  intonation,  started  the 
"Miserere''  so  high  that  only  three  or  four  in 
the  Chapel  could  take  up  the  second  verse. 
When,  to  remedy  the  defect,  our  friend  intoned 
the  third  verse,  it  was  so  low  that  a  titter  went 
all  over  the  chapel.  At  that  moment  the 
Rector  had  just  turned  and  said  with  great 
unction,  "Dominus  Vobiscum/'  but  at  the 
weird,  sepulchral  tones  that  greeted  his  ears,  he 
raised  his  eyes  and  said:  "For  God's  sake, 

Mr.  H ,  if  you  can't  sing  any  better  than 

that,  stop  it." 

We  felt  grateful  to  the  chanter  that  this 
curious  custom  came  to  an  end.  The  singing 
under  Galvin  was  fairly  good,  though  we  did 
not  produce  any  new  music.  And  why  should 
we?  The  plain  chant  was  prescribed  the  whole 
year  round  on  Sundays,  and  if  it  came  to  Holy 


504   History  of  the  American  College, Borne 

Week  or  special  occasions,  we  must  say  we 
have  never  heard  a  more  sublime  combination 
of  sacred  words  and  music  than  Fiorentini's 
"Responsoria,"  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  all 
of  his  music. 

What  pleasure  it  gave  the  old  man  to  ex- 
plain to  us  the  meaning  at  certain  passages, 
for  instance:  ''Petrus  autem  sequehatur  eum 
a  long  e  "  How  exquisite  was  the  setting  of  his 
''Lauda  Sion"  for  Corpus  Christi,  and  his 
"Veni  Sanate  Spiritus"  for  Pentecost.  How 
solemn  now,  after  so  many  years,  seem  those 
processions  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  around 
the  Cortile,  as  we  sang  the  "Pange  Lingua''  or 
"Veocilla  Regis''  and  listened  to  the  splashing 
of  the  water  in  the  fountain  under  the  Ma- 
donna's statue.  Oh,  those  were  happy,  truly 
happy  days,  never  to  return!  How  often  on 
our  summer  walks  to  Monte  Cavo,  Tivoli,  Ole- 
vano,  Monte  Compatri,  Zaggarolo,  Cavi,  and 
San  Pastore  (long  before  the  custom  of  two 
by  two  to  the  Munich  was  introduced)  did 
we  sing  on  the  Roman  highways  our  marching 
songs  of  "Allegri  Beviam,"   "Jingle  Bells," 


Musical  Reminiscences  505 

"Jammo,"  "Laugh,  Bo^^s,  Laugh,  Hal  Hal" 
and  so  many  other  favorites. 

How  often  toward  the  magic  hour  of  the 
"Ave  Maria''  when  approaching  Subiaco,  or 
leaving  Gen  azzano,  have  we,  with  heads  un- 
covered, walked  more  slowly  and  intoned  the 
"Magnificat"  as  an  evening  tribute  to  our 
"Vergine  Immacolata."  How  often  after  a 
five  days'  jaunt,  returning  to  Palestrina,  did 
we  sing  joyfully  as  we  approached  the  villa, 
"Home  Again." 

If  you  and  I,  no  matter  what  our  surround- 
ings here  may  be,  should  be  privileged  to  visit 
once  more  the  sacred  old  walls  of  Umiltà,  I  feel 
that  we  would  sing  with  all  our  hearts  "Home, 
Sweet  Home,"  and  long  for  a  return  of  days 
the  memory  of  which  can  never  be  forgotten. 

Rev.  Thomas  P.  McIìOughlin,  '84. 


IN  OUR  TIMES! 

"VTo  MORE  appropriate  title  for  these  few  rem- 
iniscences occurs  to  my  mind  at  present 
than  the  above,  for  it  is  a  phrase  that  we  all 
remember  as  the  introduction  to  tales  of  stu- 
dent days  as  told  by  the  great  ones  of  times 
long  since  past.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  old 
alumnus  on  his  ad  limina  visit  talks  to  the 
present  representatives  of  his  diocese  for  five 
minutes  without  saying  at  least  once,  "Well, 
in  our  times."  It  may  be  a  description  of  the 
old  professors  at  the  "Prop,"  or  of  pleasant 
days  in  the  city  or  in  the  country  ;  it  makes  no 
difference,  the  same  preface  suits  admirably 
well.  If,  then,  one  of  the  bambini,  who  has 
listened  to  such  recitals  with  awe,  and  occasion- 
ally with  envy,  dares  to  speak  of  "his  days," 
he  is  only  following  in  the  steps  of  his  worthy 
sires  in  this,  as  he  has  been  taught  to  do  in  other 
things. 

"In  our  times,"  when  an  unsophisticated 
youth  arrives  at  the  College,  after  being  first 

506 


In  Our  Times!  507 

driven  to  the  Americano  del  Sud,  owing  to  his 
lack  of  knowledge  of  the  art  of  distinguishing, 
he  can  usher  himself  in  by  either  of  two  en- 
trances.    He  can  choose  the  old  door  on  the 
Umiltà,  or  he  can  go  around  to  the  Pilotta 
and  there  mount  the  "Scala  regia"  leading  to 
the  cortile.    If  he  has  conceived  the  desire  of 
entering  thus  in  state,  he  should  be  forewarned 
that  Alfredo,  shoemaker  at  times  and  guardian 
of  this  gate,  must  have  his  siesta  after  dinner 
and  can  not  be  expected  to  remain  at  his  post 
even  for  such  a  visitor.    If,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  is  willing  to  follow  the  beaten  path,  let  him 
fight  it  out  with  the  cabman  at  numero  trenta 
and  get  his  first  look  at  his  new  home,  even  as 
you  did  in  your  day.    After  all,  even  in  this, 
our  adhesion  to  traditions  is  a  safer  and  sounder 
policy.     Once  inside  the  door  his  plan  is  no 
longer  his  own.    It  is  already  mapped  out  for 
him.    His  first  move  will  be  up  to  the  "seats  of 
the  mighty,"  behind  the  old  green  door,  where 
his  credentials  and  passports  are  examined  and 
his  future  habitat  marked  out. 

He  steps  out  of  the  council  chamber  into 


508   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

bright  corridors  and  goes  off  in  company  with 
his  prefect.  He  may  have  been  assigned  a 
room  on  the  Archetto,  possibly  the  identical 
one  occupied  by  his  bishop  or  his  pastor,  or  at 
least  by  plain  Father  Jones,  his  friend.  If  one 
could  read  his  thoughts,  it's  ten  to  one  that  he's 
thinking  how  pleasant  it  would  be  if  said 
bishop  or  pastor  or  priest  were  in  that  room 
now  instead  of  himself.  Never  mind,  such 
thoughts  will  have  passed  away  years  and 
years  before  he  is  a  bishop,  or  pastor  either. 
In  the  event  of  his  being  located  within  these 
sacred  precincts,  his  friends  among  the  old 
guard  will  all  agree  that  they  remember  it  well, 
while  they  may  not  be  of  one  mind  as  to  just 
who  occupied  that  room  in  their  time!  But 
they  only  remember  it  as  it  was  years  ago.  The 
same  corridor  with  its  new  pavements  and 
newly  painted  walls  isn't  the  same  old  place  at 
all.  In  fact,  there  is  nothing  left  by  which  to 
recognize  it  unless  they  carved  their  names  on 
the  window  sills.  On  the  other  hand,  the  can- 
didate may  have  been  sent  to  realms  unknown 
in  the  days  of  golden  age.     His  outlook  for 


In  Our  Times!  509 

the  coming  year  may  be  on  the  Umiltà  from 
rooms  over  the  chapel,  or  on  the  Pilotta  from 
the  rear  suites  of  our  day.  If  such  is  his  good 
fortune  the  old  giants  can  conjecture,  but  that's 
all.  They  can  not  picture  to  themselves  his 
whereabouts.  New  rooms,  new  fittings,  every- 
thing new.  Impossible,  they  will  say,  in  the 
dear  old  College!  Yes,  "our  days"  have  seen 
changes  which  the  present  generation  considers 
for  the  better,  however  the  sentiment  of  the 
ancients  suffers  thereby.  Should  the  novice 
feel  the  need  of  a  refreshing  bath  after  his  ride 
from  Naples,  he  need  only  step  down  to  the 
first  floor  on  the  Pilotta  side  of  the  house, 
where  he  will  find  his  tub  waiting.  Not  that 
way  "in  our  times,"  old-timers  will  say;  we 
had  to  go  to  Bernini  or  to  Trastevere  for  that 
privilege,  and  in  the  event  of  a  refusal  at  head- 
quarters content  ourselves  with  the  bagnarola. 
These  old  customs  are  now  memories,  scarcely 
that.  Is  it  better  for  the  student  so?  Just  ask 
any  one  of  "our  days"  for  the  answer. 

Now  that  our  new  man  is  lodged  and  bathed, 
let  us  see  if  he  does  the  same  old  stunts  that 


510   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

were  done  in  "your  times."  In  the  evening  he 
goes  to  his  *'cam"  room  and  hears  ''Vergine 
Immacolata  aiutateci'  and  "Prosit"  for  the 
first  time,  and  then  asks  what  it  means.  In  his 
future  years,  if  he  recalls  some  of  the  trans- 
lations given  then,  he  will  conclude  that  he  was 
both  green  and  easy.  If  he  can  sing,  he  will 
probably  be  requested  to  oblige,  though  formal 
initiations  take  place  only  at  the  villa  now- 
adays. The  increased  numbers  have  made 
these  entertainments  impossible  in  the  city.  If 
nature  has  not  presented  him  with  a  soul- 
inspiring  voice,  at  least  she  has  allowed  him  a 
pair  of  ears  and  so  he  can  listen.  He  may  con- 
clude that  others  of  the  *'cam"  are  in  his  boat 
as  regards  ability  to  sing,  but  their  lack  of 
voice  has  been  amply  made  up  for  by  what  is 
called  "nerve,"  an  element  lacking  in  his  pres- 
ent make-up,  but  sure  to  come  later  on.  Should 
he  be  a  native  of  some  rustic  town  he  will  likely 
be  a  checker  player,  for  in  "our  days"  the  ex- 
perts in  this  art  are  rarely  from  the  great 
centers  of  population.  I  have  in  mind  a  few 
who  would  probably  dispute  this,  but  generally 


In  Our  Times!  511 

speaking  it  is  the  boy  accustomed  to  pass  the 
cold  winter  evenings  before  the  open  grate  who 
knows  when  and  how  to  move. 

How  about  the  walks  and  the  classes  of  the 
*'Prop"?  Naturally  changes  are  slow  to  ap- 
pear in  these  branches  of  the  life  ;  they  remain 
to-day  almost  what  they  were  in  the  days  of 
even  the  most  ancient.  There  is  none  of  the 
original  students  alive  who  could  not  come 
back  to-morrow  and  fall  in  line  again  without 
any  breaking  in.  As  of  yore,  the  after-class 
walks  are  usually  to  various  churches,  where 
our  new  man's  eyes  are  opened  to  the  artistic 
beauties  of  his  new  country.  With  his  Zigliara 
carefully  tucked  away  under  his  arm,  and  his 
Hare  or  Baedeker  open  in  his  hands  he  tries 
to  take  it  all  in  at  a  glance.  Of  course  he  gets 
his  ideas  of  one  church  somewhat  confused 
with  those  of  another,  and,  what's  more,  he  is 
willing  and  ready  to  argue  his  opinions  all  the 
way  home.  Not  till  the  decision  of  the  man 
higher  up,  be  he  prefect  or  beadle,  is  appealed 
to,  does  he  admit  that  such  a  picture  is  in  such 
a  church.     The  same  penalty  attaches  to  the 


512    History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

offense  of  leading  a  "cam"  into  a  blind  alley. 
The  stately  deacon  prefers  a  daily  pilgrimage 
to  the  Pincio,  having  pounded  the  pavements 
quite  enough  in  former  years.  A  stroll  along 
the  shady  paths  up  there  is  more  to  his  liking. 
Nowadays,  if  he  tires  of  circling  around  the 
hill,  he  can  pass  over  the  new  viaduct  into  the 
Borghese,  now  the  Villa  Umberto  I,  which 
could  not  be  done  in  the  days  of  the  "giants." 
Our  new  friend,  too,  comes  up  here  at  least 
once  a  week,  for  his  musical  education  must 
also  be  looked  after.  On  Thursday  and  holi- 
days a  three-hour  walk  is  the  order  of  the  day. 
On  this  day  the  vast  majority  wend  their  way 
to  the  Borghese  and  then  the  ardent  disciples 
of  the  national  game  come  into  their  own.  "In 
our  day"  the  most  popular  field  is  the  one  be- 
hind the  palace.  Should  you  stroll  up  there 
any  Thursday  you  would  see  a  game  as  vastly 
superior  to  the  contests  of  "your  times"  as 
cricket  is  to  marbles.  Here  is  where  our  new 
man  gets  his  first  opportunity  to  live  up  to 
the  reputation  which  some  kind  friend  in  the 
College  has  given  him  in  advance.    Possibly  he 


In  Our  Times!  513 

will,  probably  he  will  not.  His  baseball  stand- 
ing may  not  be  of  prime  importance  to  his 
diocese,  but  it  is  quite  a  consideration  to  him 
personally.  He  is  in  the  presence  of  critics, 
and  he  knows  it. 

As  for  his  classes  at  the  "Prop,"  "his  times" 
and  yours  are  identical.  He  goes  at  the  same 
hours  with  his  blue  books  under  his  arm  and 
his  pen  in  his  pocket,  and  tries  to  get  down 
every  word  each  professor  utters,  and  even  a 
few  besides.  These  attempts  lead  to  the  same 
arguments  which  occupy  his  time  journeying 
to  and  from  the  College.  So  true  is  this  that 
at  the  end  of  his  course  he  can't  tell  you  the 
names  of  the  streets  he  has  passed  through 
morning  and  afternoon  for  his  four,  or  five,  or 
six  years.  When  called  in  classes  for  repeti- 
tion he  is  quite  as  unhappy  as  you  were,  and 
when  the  "Prof"  says  ''Satis"  the  same  feeling 
of  contentment  possesses  him  and  the  same 
sigh  of  relief  escapes  him.  "Exams"  are  no 
more  a  treat  "in  his  times"  than  they  were  in 
yours.  They  continue  a  part  of  the  course, 
and  the  least  agreeable  part  to  all  concerned. 


514   History  of  the  A  mcrican  College, Borne 

He  longs  for  the  day  when  they  will  all  be 
over,  as  I  dare  say  you  all  longed,  too,  though 
on  such  points  we  have  no  direct  testimony 
from  the  "old-timers."  Thus  you  see  his  career 
at  the  "Prop"  is  not  unlike  your  own.  In  fact, 
the  only  difference  is  that  of  years. 

But  when  he  lays  aside  his  pen  and  books, 
and  packs  up  his  meager  belongings  for  his 
villeggiatura,  then  he  enters  upon  a  scene 
entirely  unknown  to  the  ancients  !  This  is  the 
one  departure  from  Rome  unaccompanied  by 
regrets.  He  takes  his  seat  in  the  Albano  local, 
hears  ''pronti'  and  "partenza"  shouted  various 
times,  and  in  an  hour  passes  around  the  vine- 
clad  shores  of  the  lake  to  Castel  Gandolfo. 
Alighting  from  the  diretto,  he  walks  through 
the  village  and  down  the  hill  to  his  summer 
home,  the  charming  "Villa  Caterina."  Wander- 
ing down  through  the  pines,  he  comes  suddenly 
on  a  beautifully  laid  out  little  garden  and  a 
miniature  Lourdes  lying  just  in  front  of  the 
new  building.  This  is  something  new,  even 
for  the  most  recent  of  the  alumni.  The  new 
wing  of  the  building  is  called  an  addition,  but 


In  Our  Times!  515 

it  is  an  addition  of  such  proportions  as  to  make 
the  old  palazzo  itself  look  insignificant.  Our 
new  man  and  one  or  two  of  his  "cam"  are  given 
a  room  on  the  top  floor,  whence  he  can  view 
the  vast  desolate  waste  of  the  campagna  bor- 
dered by  the  blue  waters  of  the  Mediterranean. 
Unknown  to  him  are  the  joys  of  dwelling  with 
five  or  six  others.  In  this  he  is  the  gainer  as 
regards  comfort,  but  his  field  for  quips  and 
jokes  is  accordingly  limited.  His  predecessors 
had  more  opportunities,  so  to  speak. 

Having  put  his  new  room  in  order,  and  tried 
the  electric  light  to  see  if  it  isn't  a  dream,  he 
goes  on  a  tour  of  exploration.  The  bright, 
new  chapel  with  its  marble  altar  is  pointed  out 
as  the  place  where  6.30  must  find  him  every 
morning.  Next  to  it  he  sees  the  hall  where 
wandering  lecturers  will  be  given  a  chance  to 
show  themselves  and  their  wares.  He  himself 
will  perhaps  have  an  opportunity  of  preaching 
here  before  his  days  at  Castel  come  to  an  end. 
As  a  contrast,  he  pays  a  short  visit  to  the  relics 
of  days  gone  by.  This  long,  low  building,  he 
is  told,  was  formerly  the  domain  of  the  lordly 


516   History  of  the  Am  erican  College, Borne 

deacons  and  was  called  the  ''conventino,'' 
Now  it  is  the  home  of  those  who  serve  by  stand- 
ing and  waiting.  What  was  a  stable  is  now 
an  elegantly  equipped  bathing  establishment, 
where  refreshing  showers  cool  the  athletes  after 
their  contests  of  skill  and  strength. 

That  same  evening,  after  mail  has  been 
given  out  in  the  recreation  hall,  he  and  his  new 
friends  are  required  to  prove  themselves.  In 
other  words,  his  long-deferred  initiation  takes 
place.  He  may  be  called  upon  to  sing  his  way 
into  the  good  graces  of  his  fellows.  Every 
opportunity  will  be  given  him.  In  fact,  at 
times  the  audience  leaves  the  hall  lest  its  pres- 
ence hinder  him  in  any  way.  Should  failure 
be  the  result  of  his  efforts  in  this  line,  he  will 
be  tried  in  other  ways.  A  description  of  an 
Italian  sunset  is  a  favorite  means  of  winning 
favor.  Sometimes,  very  rarely  of  course,  a 
novice  soars  above  such  commonplaces  and  ad- 
dresses the  assembled  mob  in  Greek  or  in 
Latin.  Once  "in  my  time"  a  man  recited  some- 
thing from  Homer,  but,  strange  to  say,  did  not 
finish.    His  accent  was  not  up  to  the  required 


In  Our  Times!  517 

standard.  Seeing  his  mistake,  he  tried  to  make 
himself  solid  by  a  discourse  on  surface  tension 
— and  he  was  from  Ohio,  too.  To  the  initiated 
a  word  is  sufficient.  Just  imagine  what  would 
have  happened  "in  your  time"  and  you  know 
what  did  happen  in  ours. 

Next  daj^  he  journeys  to  the  ball  field  and, 
together  with  the  other  newcomers,  tries  to  take 
the  honors  from  the  old  men.  Seldom  does  he 
succeed,  but  each  year  he  gamely  tries,  and 
what  more  can  be  expected?  He  finds  that  the 
game  is  played  quite  as  well  as  at  his  old  Alma 
Mater,  and  that  Spalding's  latest  edition  gets 
an  occasional  glance  in  moments  stolen  from 
Ubaldi.  Later  on  he  enjoys  little  excursions 
to  Nemi  and  Frascati,  and  especially  the  mid- 
night walk  to  Monte  Cavo,  just  as  much  as  did 
his  predecessors  in  years  past.  His  one  com- 
plaint is  that  such  trips  are  too  infrequent. 

Thus  our  new  friend's  time  passes  till  the 
leaves  begin  to  fade  and  the  cold  autumn  days 
come  round  to  put  an  end  to  his  time  of  rest 
and  pleasure.  He  now  returns  to  the  Umiltà 
an  "old  man,"  a  one-year  veteran,  to  greet  the 


518   History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

new  arrivals  with  tales  of  what  "we"  did  last 
year.  But  why  accompany  him  further?  We 
have  other  things  to  do,  and  so  has  he.  Let  us 
then  say  ''addio''  and  wait  to  see  him  again  at 
the  meeting  of  the  alumni  the  year  after  he 
finishes  his  course. 

Bambino— 1908. 


SPEECH  OF  THE  REV.  DR. 
HENRY  A.  BRANN 

AT    THE     DINNER     GIVEN    IN     THE     AMERICAN 
COLLEGE,  ROME,  JANUARY   1,   1910 

'lil  T^HEN  a  few  weeks  ago  I  rode  through  the 
streets  of  this  Eternal  City  on  my  way 
to  the  College  in  which  I  finished  my  theologi- 
cal education  and  said  my  first  Mass  forty- 
seven  years  ago,  I  met  a  camerata  of  students 
and  recognized  from  the  blue  border  on  their 
outward  dress  that  they  were  Americans.  Im- 
mediately the  lamp  of  faith  burned  brighter 
in  my  intelligence,  the  fire  of  charity  grew 
warmer  in  my  heart,  and  tears  were  in  both  my 
eyes.  The  history  and  experience  of  fifty 
years  rolled  back  to  me  in  one  wave  of  love,  of 
sorrow,  of  regret,  and  of  triumph.  It  was  as 
if  the  '"Dies  Irce"  and  the  "Gloria  in  Excelsis" 
had  blended  in  one  sad  yet  joyous  melody  in 
my  soul,  as  I  thought  of  the  past  and  of  the 
present,  of  the  dead  and  of  the  living. 

And  when  I  came  into  the  house  and  stood 

519 


520   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

in  the  midst  of  your  noble  company  with  the 
able,  whole-souled  Rector  to  the  last  young 
arrival  from  across  the  seas,  and  saw  the 
pleasant  greeting  on  every  face,  I  remembered 
the  line  of  Dante  in  the  fifth  canto  of  the  Para- 
diso, when  he  tells  us  that  the  blessed  spirits 
greeted  his  arrival  by  crying  out; 

"Here   is   one   that  shall   increase   our  love." 

I  hope  that  my  coming  in  a  similar  way  may 
increase  your  love  for  God,  for  the  see  of 
Peter,  for  your  College,  and  for  the  beloved 
portion  of  the  Church  which  sent  you  here,  and 
longs  to  see  you  return  to  defend  her  claims, 
propagate  her  doctrines,  and  sanctify  the 
people  of  the  only  great,  sensible,  and  free 
republic  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

What  a  gallant  company  you  form  as  I  see 
you  before  me;  young  men  of  strong  thews 
and  sinews,  broad  shoulders,  strong  limbs, 
well-formed  heads,  bright,  handsome  faces, 
steady  and  penetrating  eyes,  broad  foreheads, 
and  of  erect  and  graceful  bearing.  What  an 
irresistible  battalion  of  Pontifical  Zouaves  you 
would  have  made  in  the  days  of  that  grand 


Speech  of  Rev.  Dr,  Henry  A .  Brann    521 

warrior  of  the  Faith,  Pius  IX;  and  how  an 
army  officer  if  he  stood  here  would  like  to  en- 
list all  these  expert  baseball  and  football  play- 
ers into  the  military  service.  Train  you  a  little, 
put  bayonets  and  guns  into  your  hands,  give  you 
the  stalwart  Bishop  Kennedy  for  Colonel  and 
let  him  cry,  "Charge!" — I  believe  you  would 
drive  before  you  three  times  your  number,  and 
with  a  dash  and  a  spring  climb  a  rampart  or 
storm  any  hostile  fort.  But  the  right  flag 
would  be  necessary  to  lead  you  on — the  flag 
that  represents  true  liberty,  true  progress,  and 
rational  government  in  the  world,  the  flag  with 
the  Stars  and  Stripes! 

Pardon  me,  gentlemen,  for  this  military  di- 
gression. I  must  not  forget  that  like  his 
Master,  Christ,  the  priest  is  always  for  peace, 
and  that  he  must  cultivate  patience  and  bear 
insult  and  injury  even  to  the  death  of  the 
Cross;  yet  it  is  very  hard  for  an  American 
priest,  accustomed  to  the  universal  benevolence 
and  courtesy  of  his  own  free  land,  to  be  patient 
in  some  parts  of  Europe. 

Gentlemen,  this  hall  is  to  me  like  a  flower 


522    History  of  the  American  College jRome 

garden.  You  are  the  flowers  fragrant  with 
virtue,  bright  with  youth  and  innocence,  illu- 
minated by  the  light  of  intelligence  and  sci- 
ence. But  among  the  flowers  I  see  white 
marble  slabs  rising,  the  tombstones  of  the  dead. 
This  hall  is  to  me  a  graveyard  also.  My  old 
schoolmates — my  old  friend  Corrigan,  the 
Aloysius  of  the  house,  always  a  saint  and  a 
scholar  ;  Gardner,  the  brilliant  and  subtle  in- 
tellect; and  O'Regan,  who  from  being  a 
Pontifical  Zouave,  became  the  second  Roman 
Doctor  of  the  College;  and  the  rest  of  the 
dead — hard  workers,  writers,  preachers,  and 
church  builders — I  see  their  tombstones  rising 
among  the  flowers.  Eternal  rest  give  to  them, 
OLordI 

Gentlemen,  I  leave  you  in  a  few  days  to  go 
home  to  my  work,  to  fight,  not  with  the  sword, 
but  with  the  syllogism;  with  the  tongue  con- 
trolled by  faith  and  charity.  I  hear  the  call 
of  my  commander-in-chief,  Christ,  to  go;  I 
hear  the  silver  tones  of  sweet  little  St.  Agnes 
calling  me  to  take  my  vacant  seat  in  her  sanc- 
tuary, and  mount  again  the  pulpit  from  wliich 


Speech  of  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  A.  Brann    523 

I  shall  see  the  sunlight  of  affection  on  the  faces 
of  my  twelve  hundred  little  school  children  and 
ten  thousand  parents  and  friends.  I  shall  take 
with  me  the  pleasant,  grateful  memories  of  my 
visit  to  Alma  Mater,  who  nursed  me  fifty  years 
ago;  and  who  to-day  enters  on  a  second  cycle 
in  her  prolific  maternity.  I  can  never  forget 
the  kindness  and  generosity  of  your  noble 
Rector,  of  his  zealous  and  handsome  Vice- 
Rector,  and  of  your  ascetical  spiritual  father, 
whom  I  met  before  I  came  across  the  sea  ;  and 
of  all  the  young  levites  of  the  College,  partic- 
ularly of  the  New  Yorkers,  who  seemed  to  be 
so  pleased  to  be  chosen  to  serve  my  Mass.  I 
can  not  forget  the  courtesy  and  the  friendship 
of  his  Eminence  Cardinal  Martinelli,  who 
proves  by  his  presence  here  to-day  that  the 
friendship  begun  in  America  has  not  been 
washed  out  by  seas  or  dimmed  by  distance. 
But  above  all  I  shall  not  forget  the  venerable 
and  sacred  form  of  the  Supreme  Pontiff,  who 
looking  with  his  beautifully  sincere  and  pene- 
trating eyes  into  my  dull  ones,  and  reading 
therein  that  I  had  ever  been  a  loyal  soldier  of 


524   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

the  Church,  gave  me  a  glance  which  was  like 
an  effusion  of  supernatural  light  into  my  soul. 
I  see  around  me  his  battle-scarred  flag  inter- 
twined with  the  flag  of  my  country.  No  better 
union  could  exist,  for  the  flag  of  him  who  best 
represents  the  conserv^ative  forces  of  civiliza- 
tion, of  him  who  stands  for  God  and  the  Ten 
Commandments,  is  logically  and  really  the 
staunchest  champion  of  that  order,  of  that 
justice,  and  of  that  liberty,  for  which  the 
starry  flag  floats  in  the  breeze. 

Now  good-by.  I  hope  to  meet  you  again  in 
America,  but  if  not  I  hope  to  meet  you  in  the 
only  place  that's  better  than  America — and 
that's  Heaven. 

Gentlemen,  my  last  words  are  a  toast  to  our 
flag,  and  I  borrow  the  words  of  a  sweet-singing 
poet  of  Boston  to  express  it: 

Here  is  our  love  to  you,  flag  of  the  free  and  flag  of  the 

tried  and  true  ; 
Here  is  our  love  to  you,  streaming  stripes  and  your  stars 

in  a  field  of  blue  ; 
Native  or  foreign,   we're  children   all  of  the  land  over 

which  you  fly  ; 
And  native  or  foreign,  we  love  the  land  for  which  it  is 

sweet  to  die." 


THE   AMERICAN   COLLEGE' 


ROMAN   CATHOLIC    CHURCH 

OF   THE    UNITED    STATES 

(legal  title) 

Enacted  and   Approved   by   General   Assembly   of   Maryland, 
March  18,  1886 

TRUSTEES 

His  Eminence  James  Cardinal  Gibbons,  President, 

Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 
His  Grace  Patrick  John  Ryan,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Archbishop  of  Philadelphia. 
His  Grace  John  M.  Farley,  D.D.,  Treasurer, 

Archbishop  of  New  York. 
His  Grace  William  H.  O'Connell,  D.D., 

Archbishop  of  Boston. 

RECTORS 

Rev.  William  G.  McCloskey, 

December  1,  1859,  to  May  24,  1868. 
Rev.  Francis  Silas  Chatard,  D.D., 

May  24,  1868,  to  May  12,  1878. 
Rev.  Louis  E.  Hostlot,  D.D.,' 

May  12,  1878,  to  February  1,  1884. 
Rev.  Denis  J.  O'Connell,  D.D., 

June  15,  1885,  to  November  21,  1895. 
Rev.  William  H.  O'Connell, 

November  21,  1895,  to  May  14,  1901. 
Rev.  Thomas  F.  Kennedy,  D.D., 

June  15,  1901. 

^From  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Alumni  Association,  1908. 
^Deceased. 

6U 


526   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

PRO-RECTORS 

Rev.  Dr.  Bernard  Smith^  O.S.B. 

December  8,  1859,  to  March  3,  1860. 
Rev.  August   J.    Schulte, 

February  1,  1884,  to  June  15,  1885. 

LIST  OF  PRESIDENTS 

1885-1886— Rev.  James  Nilan,  New  York. 
1886-1887— Rev.  Patrick    J.   Garvey,    D.D.,   Philadelphia. 
1887-1888— Rev.  Patrick    J.    Garvey,   D.D.,   Philadelphia. 
1888-1889— Rev.  Patrick  Hennessy,  Newark. 
1889-1890— Rev.  John  W.  McMahon,  D.D.,  Boston. 
1890-1891— Rev.  John  W.  McMahon,  D.D.,  Boston. 
1891-1892— Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  John  M.  Farley,  New  York. 
1892-1893— Rev.  P.   F.   Smith,   Albany. 
1893-1894— Rev.  Thomas   F.   Mahar,  D.D.,  Cleveland. 
1894-1895— Rev.  John  J.  Sheahan,  Buffalo. 
1895-1896— Rev.  Owen   B.  Corrigan,   Baltimore. 
1896-1897— Rev.  Henry  A.   Brann,  D.D.,  New  York. 
1897-1898— Rev.  Henry  A.  Brann,  D.D.,  New  York. 
1898-1899— Rev.  Jeremiah  E.  Millerick,  Boston. 
1899-1900— Rev.  Edward  A.  Pace,  D.D.,  St.  Augustine. 
1900-1901— Rev.  Edward  J.  McGolrick,  Brooklyn. 
1901-1902— Rev.  Thomas  J.  Shahan,  D.D.,  Hartford. 
1902-1903— Rev.  John  E.  Burke,  New  York. 
1903-1904— Rev.  James  T.  Coffey,  St.  Louis. 
1904-1905— Rev.  William   Maher,   D.D.,   Hartford. 
1905-1906— Rev.  Jeremiah  E.  Millerick,  Boston. 
1906-1907 -Rt.  Rev.  Wm.  Kieran,  D.D.,  Philadelphia. 
1907-1908— Rev.  Francis  H.  Wall,  D.D.,  New  York. 
1908-1909— Rev.  Francis  H.  Wall,  D.D.,  New  York. 

MEETINGS  OF  THE  ALUMNI  ASSOCIATION 

First  Meeting,  April  19,  1885,  Archbishop's  House,  New  York. 
Second  Meeting,  May   15,  1885,  St.   Patrick's   Rectory,  New 
York. 


The  American  College  527 

Third  Meeting,  November  10,  1885,  St.  Patrick's  Rectory, 
New  York. 

Second  Annual  Meeting,  May  11,  1886,  St.  Charles'  Semi- 
nary, Overbrook,  Pa. 

Third  Annual  Meeting,  May  31,  1887,  New  York. 

Fourth   Annual  Meeting,  May  29,  1888,  Philadelphia. 

Fifth  Annual  Meeting,  June  5,  1889,  Boston. 

Sixth  Annual  Meeting,  May  7,  1890,  Cincinnati 

Seventh  Annual  Meeting,  May  13,  1891,  Baltimore. 

Eighth  Annual  Meeting,  May  18,  1892,  Brooklyn. 

Ninth  An.nual  Meeting,  May  17,  1893,  Cleveland. 

Tenth  Annual  Meeting,  May  9,  1894,  Providence. 

Eleventh  Annual  Meeting,  May  15,  1895,  Buffalo. 

Twelfth  Annual  Meeting,  May  20,  1896,  Washington. 

Thirteenth  Annual  Meeting,  May  19,  1897,  New  York. 

Fourteenth  Annual  Meeting,  May  11,  1898,  Boston. 

Fifteenth  Annual  Meeting,  May  17,  1899,  Philadelphia. 

Sixteenth  Annual  Meeting,  May  16,  1900,  Rochester. 

Seventeenth  Annual  Meeting,  May  22,  1901,  Brooklyn. 

Eighteenth  Annual  Meeting,  May  14,  1902,  Washington. 

Special  Meeting,  March  11,  1902,  Catholic  Club,  New  York. 

Nineteenth  Annual  Meeting,  May  6,  1903,  New  York. 

Twentieth  Annual  Meeting,  August  24,  1904,  St.  Louis. 

Twenty-First  Annual  Meeting,  May  10,  1905,  Hartford. 

Twenty-Second  Annual  Meeting,  May  16,  1906,  Boston. 

Twenty-Third  Annual  Meeting,  May  1,  1907,  Philadelphia. 

Twenty-Fourth  Annual  Meeting,  May  13,  1908,  New  York. 

Twenty-Fifth  Annual  Meeting,  June  12,  1909,  Rome. 


HONORARY  OFFICERS 

OF   THE 

ALUMNI  ASSOCIATION 


HONORARY  PRESIDENT 

Most  Rev.  John  M.   Farley,   D.D., 

Archbishop  of  New  York. 

SECOND  HONORARY  PRESIDENT 

Rt.   Rev.  Thomas  F.   Kennedy,  D.D., 

Rector  of  the  American  College. 

HONORARY  VICE-PRESIDENTS 

Most  Rev.  Patrick  W.   Riordan,  D.D., 

Archbishop  of  San  Francisco. 

Most   Rev.   Henry  Moeller,  D.D., 

Archbishop   of  Cincinnati. 

Most  Rev.   John  J.   Glennon,   D.D., 

Archbishop  of  St.  Louis. 

Most  Rev.  William  H.  O'Connell,  D.D., 

Archbishop   of  Boston. 

Rt.  Rev.  Maurice  F.  Burke,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  St.  Joseph,  Mo. 

Rt.  Rev.  Francis  S.  Chatard,  D.D., 

Bishop  of  Indianapolis,  Ind. 
Rt.  Rev.  Dennis  J.  Dougherty,  D.D., 

Bishop  of  Nueva  Segovia,  P.  I. 
Rt.  Rev,  Michael  J.  Hoban,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Scranton,  Pa. 
Rt.  Rev.  Benj.  J.  Keiley,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Savannah,  Ga, 
Rt.  Rev.  Wm.  G.  McCloskey,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Louisville,  Ky. 
Rt.  Rev.  Chas.  E.  McDonnell,  D.D., 

Bishop  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Rt.  Rev.  Bernard  J.  McQuaid,  D.D., 

Bishop  of  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Rt.  Rev.  John  B.  Morris,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Little  Rock,  Ark. 
Rt.  Rev.  Henry   P.  Northrop,  D.D., 

Bishop  of  Charleston,  S.  C. 
Rt.  Rev.  John  J.  O'Connor,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Newark,  N.  J. 
Rt.  Rev.  Henry  J.  Richter,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  G.  Rapids,  Mich. 

528 


The  Alumni  Association  529 

OFFICERS 

OF   THE 

ALUMNI  ASSOCIATION 

PRESIDENT 

Rev.  Frakcis  H.   Wall,  D.D. 

New  York 

FIRST  VICE-PRESIDENT 

Rev.  George  A.  Dougherty 

Baltimore 

SECOND  VICE-PRESIDENT 

Rev.   Alexander  Mercer 

St.  Louis 

SECRETARY 

Rev.  John-   Joseph   O'Brien" 

New  York 

HISTORIAN 

Rev.  Charles  A.  Smith 

Newark 

EXECUTIVE   COMMITTEE 

Very   Rev.  William  G.  Murphy 

New  York 

Rev.  Thomas  J.  Lynch  Rev.  Daniel  J.  McMackin 

New  York  New  York 

JUBILEE    COMMITTEE 

Rev.    William    H.   Maker,   Chairman 

Rt.   Rev.  John  J.  Barrett 

Rev.  John  E.  Burke 


530   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

MEMBERS   OF  THE  ALUMNI 
ASSOCIATION 

Rev.  James  F.  Ahern 68  Elliott  St.,  Springfield,  Mass. 

Rev.  L.  A.  Appo 563  Sterling  Place,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Augustine  Asfalg..28  W.  Sidney  Ave.,  Mt.  Vernon,  N.  Y. 

Rt.  Rev.  John  I.  Barrett. .  .367  Clermont  Ave.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  James  T.  Barry Rye,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  George  A.  Barthel 421  East  86th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  James  R.  Bartley 999  Branch  Ave.,  Providence,  R.  I. 

Rev.  James  J.  Baxter,  D.D 9  Whitmore  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Rev.  James  Boylan 48th  St.  &  Lancaster  Ave.,  Phila.,  Pa. 

Rev.  Hubert  J.  Behr,  D.D 52  Smith  St.,  Elizabeth,  N.  J. 

Rev.  Peter  E.  Blessing,  D.D..999  Branch  Ave.,  Providence,  R.  I. 

Rev.  John  ]M.  Bowen Coal  City,  111. 

Rev.  Edward  L.  Brady 6th  and  Pine  Sts.,  Wilmington,  Del. 

Rev.  Henry  A.  Brann,  D.D.  .141  East  43d  St.,  New  York  City 
Rev.  Andrew  J.  Brennan. .  .315  Wyoming  Ave,,  Scranton,  Pa. 

Rev.  John  C.  Brennan Lakeville,  Conn. 

Rev.  Victor  J.  Brucker.  .2147  Depot  St.,  Sta.  B.,  Indianapolis, 

Ind. 
Rev.  Albert  A.  Burke,  Cedar  Grove,  Price  Hill,  Cincinnati,  Ohio 

Rev.  John  E.  Burke 1  Madison  Ave.,  New  York  City 

Rt.  Rev.  M.  F.  Burke,  D.D The  Cathedral,  St.  Joseph,  Mo. 

Rev.  Dennis  Bustin Jersey  Shore,  Pa. 

Rev.  D.  J.  M.  Callahan,  S.J..Fordham  University,  N.  Y.  City 
Rev.  John  W.  Casey,  S.J. .  Fordham  University,  New  York  City 

Rev.  Joseph  Casey,  U.S.A Van  Couver,  Wash. 

Rev.  B.  S.  Chambers,  D.D..146  West  71st  St.,  New  York  City 
Rt.  Rev.  F.  S.  Chatard,  D.D.,  Meridian  &  14th  Sts., 

Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Rev.  James  T.  Coffey 2315  Mullanphy  St.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Rev.  Nicholas  P.  Coleman.. St.  Peter's  Rectory,  Danbury,  Conn. 
Rev.  Patrick  Colman...St.  John's  Rectory,  Swampscott,  Mass. 

Rev.  John  Connelly 301  Grant  Ave.,  Wilmington,  Del. 

Rev.  James  N.  Connolly 230  East  90th  St.,  New  York  City 


The  Alumni  Association  531 

Rev.  Joseph  F.  Conway 852  Pacific  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  John  W.  Corbett..ll7  Ashland  St.,  West  Roxbury,  Mass. 

Rev.  Jos.  Corcoran Rochester,  N.  H. 

Rev.  James  Corridan 833  St.  Ann's  Ave.,  Bronx 

Rev.  Joseph  M.Corrigan,D.D.. 345  N.  63d  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Rt.  Rev.  O.B.Corrigan,D.D....  1611  Baker  St.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Rev.  James  E.  Coyle St.  Paul's  Rectory,  Birmingham,  Ala. 

Rev.  John  T.  Creagh,  D.D.  .Catholic  Univ.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Rev.  William  S.  Creeden 44  Second  Ave.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  Edmund  W.  Cronin 344  East  104th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  James  F.  Crowley 72  Maujer  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Joseph  Cruse Silver  Lake,  Perry  Co.,  Mo. 

Rev.  John  A.  Cummiskey Rochester,  Minn. 

Rev.  Joseph  Cunnane ..  Monument  &  Washington  Sts., 

Baltimore,  Md. 

Rev.  Francis  A.  Cunningham Belmont,  Mass. 

Rev.  Daniel  C.  Cunnion 325  E .  145th  St.,  Bronx 

Rev.  Daniel  J.  Curley.  .6  White  Plains  Road,  Van  Nest,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  James  B.  Curry 23  Oliver  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  Patrick  H.  Cusack London,  Ohio 

Rev. Jos.  F.  Delany,  D.D..239  West  49th  St.,  New  York  City 
Rev.  Stephen  P.  Dever,  D.D..1511  So.  10th  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rev.  John  J.  Devlin 400  Willow  Ave.,  Hoboken,  N.  J. 

Rev.  Francis  X.  Dolan,  D.D.  .75  Union  Park  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 
Rev.  William  J.  Donohue ....  Germantown,  Port  Jervis,  N.  Y. 

Rt.  Rev.  E.  J.  Donnelly,  V.F Flushing,  L.  I. 

Rev.  E.  J.  Donnelly 225  Sixth  Ave.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  James  P.  Donovan,  D.D..P.  O.  Box  915,  Middletown,  Conn. 
Rev.  A.  W.  Doran.  .Mission  House,  Cath.  Univ.,  Wash'n,  D.  C. 

Rev.  Ambrose  A.  Dorè Somerville,  Mass. 

Rt.  Rev.  D.  J.  Dougherty,  D.D.,  Ol  i  Spado  De  Nueva  Se 

Govia,  Vigan,  P.  I. 
Rev.  George  A.  Dougherty ..  Catholic  Univ.,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Rev.  John  J.  Dougherty.  .St.  Peter's  Cath.,  Wilmington,  Del. 
Rev.  Thomas  B.  Dougherty.  .263  Mulberry  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  Edward  Downes St.   Mary's   Rectory,  Milford,  Conn. 

Rev.  John  P.  M.  Doyle.  .4th  Ave.  &  74th  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


532    History  of  the  American  College^Rome 

Rev.  D.  J.  Driscoll 216  West  83d  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  John  J.  Duffy.. 48th  St.  &  Lancaster  Ave.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Rev.  Thomas  L.  Duhigg 250  21st  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Most  Rev.  J.  M.  Farley,  D.D...452  Madison  Ave.,  N.  Y.  City 
Rev.  Patrick  Farrell,  D.D.4129  Superior  Av.,N.  E., Cleveland,  O. 
Very  Rev.  J.  T.  Farrelly,  D.D.  .North  American  College,  via 

Dell'  Umiltà  30,  Rome,  Italy 

Rev.  Lawrence  G.  Fell,  D.D Blasdell,  Erie  Co.,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  John  A.  Ferry Fort   Seward,  Alaska 

Rev.  Charles  A.  Finn,  D.D 30  Union  St.,  Salem,  Mass. 

Rt.  Rev.  Nevin  F.  Fisher 21  S.  13th  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rev.  E.  J.  Fitz  Maurice,  D.D.  .St.  Charles  Sem.,  Overbrook,  Pa. 

Rev.  F.  P.  Fitzmaurice Church  &  Franklin  Sts.,  Phila.,  Pa. 

Rev.  M.  P.  Fitzgerald 997  St.  John's  Place,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  P.  M.  Fitzgerald 117  Warren  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Robert  F.  Fitzgerald Derby,  Conn. 

Rev.  William  H.  Flynn 97  E.  Main  St.,  Waterbury,  Conn. 

Rev.  William  E.  Foley Williamstown,  Mass. 

Rev.  M.  P.  Foley,  D.D St.  Augustine,  Fla. 

Rev.  William  J.  Foran Monson,  Mass. 

Rev.  Hugh  P.  Gallagher,  S. J.. Santa  Clara  College, 

Santa  Clara,  Cai. 

Rev.  William  J.  Galvin Westerly,  R.  I. 

Rev.  W.  J.  Garrigan,  D.D..  Lehigh  Ave.  &  24th  St., 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rev.  William  P.  Garrity R.  R.  No.  3,  Westport,  Ind. 

Rev.  Albert  B.  Gass Kirksville,  Mo. 

Rev.  P.  C.  Gavan 408  No.  Charles  St.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Vy.  Rev.  E.  W.  Gavin.  .Immac.  Concep.  Ch.,  Waukegan,  III. 
Rev.  J.  Emil  Gefell,  Ph.D...  35  E.  Maple  St.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Edmund  F.  Gibbons Attica,  Wyoming  Co.,    N.  Y. 

Rev.  Denis  L.  Gleason,  D.D Stamford,  Conn. 

Rev.  Charles  F.  Glennen 93  Central  St.,  Somerville,  Mass. 

Most  Rev.  J.  J.  Glennon,  D.D.  .209  Walnut  St.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Rev.  J.  Francis  Goggin..St.  Bernard's  Sem.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Rev.  Leo  A.  Gossman New  Richland,  Mimi. 


The  Alumni  Association  533 

Rev.  Martin  Crasser Bardonia,  N.   Y. 

Rev.  John  H.  Guendling 58  West  5th  St.,  Peru,  Ind. 

Rev.  William  J.  Guinan,  D.D.  .142  E.  29th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  Edward  J.  Hanna,  D.D . .  St.  Bernard's  Sem., 

Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  James  V.  Hanrahan 22  Cottage  St.,  Fitchburg,  Mass. 

Rev.  Edward  Henry Portland,  Me. 

Rev.  William  H.  Harrington Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Francis  M.  J.  Headen..305  S.  Springfield  St.,  Chicago,  111. 
Very  Rev.  P.  R.  Heffron,D.D..St.  Paul's  Sem.,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

Rev.  James  Henry 716  W.  3d  St.,  Cincinnati,  O. 

Rev.  John  F.  Hickey St.  Patrick's  Rectory,  Cincinnati,  O. 

Rev.  James  J.  Higgins,  D.D..466  Boulevard,  L.  I.  City,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Edward  A.  Higney St.  James's  Rectory,  Arctic,  R.  I. 

Rt.  Rev.  M.  J.  Hoban,  D.D Scranton,  Pa. 

Rev.  P.  F.  Horan,  D.D Forth  Smith,  Ark. 

Rev.  James  Howard,  D.D..307  W.  Capitol  Ave.,  Springfield,  111. 

Rev.  Joseph  L.  Hugon Tallahassee,  Fla. 

Rev.  J.  J.  Hurley 497  N.  Park  Ave.,  Chicago,  111. 

Rev.  Lucian  Johnston 528  East  22d  St.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Rev.  Joseph  Joos 10  Anderson  St.,  Monroe,  Mich. 

Rev.  Richard  D.  Jordan Pittston,  Pa. 

Rev.  Jos,  E.  Joyce.. St.  Mary's  Rectory,  Windsor  Locks,  Conn. 

Rt.  Rev.  John  F.  Kearney.. 263  Mulberry  St.,  New  York  City 
Rev.  Daniel  J.  Kehoe,  D.D..St.  Charles'  Sem.,  Overbrook,  Pa. 

Rt.  Rev.  B.  J.  Keiley,  D.D Savannah,  Ga. 

Rev.  James  H.  KeUy 101  Green  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rt.  Rev.  T.  F.  Kennedy,  D.D..Via  Dell'  Umiltà  30,  Rome,  Italy 

Rev.  Edward  J.  Kenny Marlboro,  N.  Y. 

Rt.  Rev.  Wm.  Kieran,  D.D..242  S.  20th  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rev.  L.  J.  Knappe 24  Clark  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Rev.  B.  F.  Kuhlman,  D.D National  Military  Home,  Ohio 

Rev.  Francis  J.  Lamb,  S.J..30  West  16th  St.,  New  York  City 
Rev.  Francis  E.  Lavelle Amenia,  Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y. 


534   History  of  the  A  merican  College.Rome 

Rev.  James  D.  Lennon 413  E.  79th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  Patrick  J.  Lennon Pocantico  Hills,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  J.  S.  Long 63d  St.  &  Maple  Ave.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Rev.  Thomas  F.  Lynch.. Nostrand  &  Newkirk  Av.,  B'klyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Thomas  J.  Lynch Dunwoodie,  Yonkers  P.  O.,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  George  A.  Lyons 68  Stanley  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Rev.  F.  T.  McCarthy,  S.J 30  West  16th  St.,  N.  Y.  City 

Rt.  Rev.  W.  G.  McCloskey,  D.D Louisville,  Ky. 

Rt.  Rev.  C.  McDonnell,  D.D..367  Clermont  Ave.,  B'klyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  James  M.  McDonnell 55  Grand  St.,  Newburgh,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  J.  J.  McGarry,  D.C.L Concord,  Mass. 

Rev.  Patrick  E.  McGee 924  StaflFord  Rd.,  Fall  River,  Mass. 

Rev.  Thomas  J.  McGee,  D.D Nantucket,  Mass. 

Rev.  James  McGeveran 132  So.  5th  St.,  Easton,  Pa. 

Rev.  Wm.  F.  McGinnis,  D.D Westbury,  L.  L,  N.  Y. 

Rev.E.  J.  McGolrick..St.  Cecilia's   Rectory,  Herbert  St., 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Thomas  McGrath Neoga,  111. 

Rev.  James  H.  McGuinnis 657  Washington  St.,  N.  Y.  City 

Rev.  Owen  McGuire,  D.D..St.  Bernard's  Sem.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Rev.  Alexander  B.  McKay..  1845  W.  23d  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rev.  Joseph  D.  A.  McKenna Flushing,  L.  I.,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  J.  J.  McLaughlin,  D.D.... 22  Talbot  St.,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Rev.  Thomas  McLoughlin.  .15  Beauchamp  PI., 

New  Rochelle,  N.  Y. 
Rev.  D.  J.  McMackin,  D.D..452  Madison  Ave.,  New  York  City 
Rev.  John  W.  McMahon,  D.D..St.  Mary's  Rectory, 

Charlestown,  Boston,  Mass. 

Rev.Wm.  J.  McMuUen 136  N.  Craig  St.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Rt.  Rev.  B.  J.  McQuaid,  D.D..70  Frank  St.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Patrick   McLaughlin Newburgh,   N.  Y. 

Rev.  John  McQuirk,  D.D..122  East  118th  St.,  New  York  City 
Rev.  J.  B.  MacGinley,  D.D..902  So.  20th  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Rev.  Leo  P.  MacGinley.. Catholic  University,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Rev.  Joseph  Magri 800  Cathedral  PL,  Richmond,  Va. 

Rev.  Thomas  F.  Mahar,  D.D..164  West  Market  St.,  Akron,  O. 
Rev.  Michael  Maher Jacksonville,  Fla. 


The  Alumni  Association  535 

Rev.  William  Maher,  D.D So.  Norwalk,  Conn. 

Rev.  John  J.  Mahon 249  Ninth  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  B.  J.  Mahoney St.  Peter's  Rectory,  Troy,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  P.  J.  Mahoney,  D.D.  .521  West  179th  St.,  New  York  City 
Rev.  Andrew  B.  Meehan.  .St.  Bernard's  Sem.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Rev.  Alexander  F.  Mercer..  1203  S.  Boyle  Ave.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Rev.  W.  A.  Meriwether,  S.J..St.  Stanislaus  College,  Macon,  Ga. 

Rev.  Joseph  A.  Miller Webster,  Monroe  Co.,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  J.  E.  Millerick 8  Allen  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Most  Rev.  H.  Moeller,  D.D..636  W.  8th  St.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio 

Rev.  T.  F.  Monaghan 91  Myrtle  Ave.,  Irvington,  N.  J. 

Rt.  Rev.  John  B.  Morris,  D.D Little  Rock,  Ark. 

Rev.  Humphrey  Moynihan Merriam  Park,  Minn. 

Rev.M.  J.  Mulligan,  D.D 240  Ninth  St.,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

Rev.  Denis  Murphy,  R.D..St.  Patrick's  Rectory, 

Memphis,  Tenn. 
Rev.  Geo.  F.  Murphy,  D.D..2642  Superior  Ave.,  N.  E., 

Cleveland,  Ohio 
Rev.  J.  J.  Murphy,  D.D..2328  E.  Lehigh  Ave.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rev.  John  W.  Murphy 116  S.  State  St.,  Dubois,  Pa. 

Very  Rev.  W.  G.  Murphy,  P.R. . .  .503  E.  14th  St.,  N.  Y.  City 

Rev.  Henry  T.  Newey Saugerties,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Rudolf  Nickel 421  East  86th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  Joseph  F.  Nolan,  D.D..1800  Lakeside  Ave.,  Cleveland,  O. 
Rev.  Michael  J.  Nolan,  D.D. . .  .70  Frank  St.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Rt.  Rev.  H.  P.  Northrop,  D.D.  .114  Broad  St.,  Charleston,  S.  C. 
Rev.  John  T.  Norton ..  Fulton  &  Fayette  Aves.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Rev.  John  F.  Nugent 532  Brannan  St.,  San  Francisco,  Cai. 

Rev.  William  Nugent 1114  Destreham  St.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Rev.  James  Nunan,  D.D.  .121  East  Duval  St.,  Jacksonville,  Fla. 

Rev.  Hugh  A.  O'Brien Bessemer,  Ala. 

Rev.  James  P.  O'Brien Browns  Station,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  John  O'Brien Fernandina,  Fla. 

Rev.  John  J.  O'Brien 444  East  119th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  Francis  O'Bryan 121  Segwick  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

Rt.  Rev.D.  J.  O'Connell,  D.D..Cath.  Univ.,  Washington,  D.  C. 


536   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Rev.  J.  E.  O'Connell Hopkinton,  Mass. 

Most  Rev.  W.  H.  O'Connell,  D.D.  .^o  Granby  St.,  Boston,  Mass.* 

Rev.  Edmund  O'Connor 1015  Delaware  Ave.,  Buifalo,  N.  Y. 

Rt.  Rev.  J.  J.  O'Connor,  D.D.. 552  S.  Orange  Ave., 

South  Orange,  N.  J. 

Rev,  Martin  O'Gara 503  East  14th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  John  F.  O'Hern 70  Frank  St.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Joseph  F.  O'Keefe Wayne,  Pa. 

Rev.  Patrick  J.  O'Leary New  Canaan,  Conn. 

Rev.  Felix  M.  O'Neill 400  Willow  Ave.,  Hoboken,  N.  J. 

Rev.  Patrick  T.  O'Reilly East  Pepperell,  Mass. 

Rev.T.  C.  O'Reilly,  D.D..  1800  Lakeside  Ave.,  N.   E., 

Cleveland,  Ohio 
Rev.  John  L.  O'Toole Corona,  Bor.  of  Queens,  N.  Y. 

Very  Rev.  Edw.  A.  Pace,  D.D ..  Catholic  Univ.,  Wash'n,  D.  C. 

Rev.  W.  Gaston  Payne Clifton  Forge,  Va. 

Rev.  W.  A.  Plamondon 307  Park  Ave.,  Burlington,  Vt. 

Rev.  John  B.  Pleus,  D.D.  .Sacred  Heart  Church,  Columbia,  Mo. 
Rev.  J.  Pohlschneider,  D.D..1117  Pendleton  St.,  Cincinnati,  O. 

Rev.  William  C.  Poole West  New  Brighton,  S.  I. 

Rev.  J.  M.  Prendergast,  S.J.  .303  Elizabeth  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  J.  A.  Quigley 260  State  St.,  Springfield,  Mass. 

Rev.  D.  J.  Quinn,  S.J..Fordham  University,  Bronx,  N.  Y.  City 
Rev.  Francis  A.  Quinn,  D.D..225  N.  18th  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Rev.  John  P.  Quinn Charlotte,  Monroe  Co.,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  James  F.  Raywood..St.  Mary's  Rectory,  Newburg,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  H.  H.  Rechtin St.  Peter's  Rectory,  Hamilton,  O. 

Rev.  P.  C.  Reding 5  Richland  St.,  Worcester,  Mass. 

Rev.  Geo.  A.  Reis,  P.R 1835  N.  18th  St.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Rev.  L.  P.  Rennolds,  U.S.N Navy  Yard,  Norfolk,  Va. 

Rev.  John  J.  Reuland 437  Noble  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

Rt.  Rev.  Henry  J.  Richter,  D.D..165  Sheldon  St., 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

Rev.  M.  J.  Riordan Pikesville,  Md. 

Most  Rev.  P.  W.  Riordan,  D.D..1000  Fulton  St., 

San  Francisco,  Cai. 


The  Alumni  Association  537 

Rev.  Patrick   Rowan Evansville,  Ind. 

Rev.  J.  F.  Rummell,  D.D 93  Wurts  St.,  Kingston,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  William  T.  Russell. ..  .10th  St.  and  G,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Rev.E.   F.  Ryan,  D.D 2  Fellsway,  E.,  Maiden,  Mass. 

Rev.  M.  J.  Scanlon 75  Union  Park  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Rev.  Joseph  Schade..Our  Lady  Help  of  Christians, 

Allegheny  Ave.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Rev.  John  A.  Schmitt.  .165  Sheldon  St.,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 
Rev.  J.  F.  Schoenhoeft,  D.D..3680  Warsaw  Ave.,  Cincinnati,  O. 

Rev.  A.  J.  Schulte St.  Charles  Seminary,  Overbrook,  Pa. 

Rev.  William  J.  Scott Henry  Clay,  Del. 

Rev.  Edward  J.  Seebeck..Star  of  the  Sea,  Far  Rockaway,  N.  Y. 

Very  Rev.  Wm.  F.  Seibertz TeU  City,  Ind. 

Rev.  Joseph  Selinger,  D.D..216  Broadway,  Jefferson  City,  Mo. 
Rev.  Henry  C.  Semple,  S.J. . .  .980  Park  Ave.,  New  York  City 
Very  Rev.  Thos.  J.  Shahan,  D.D..  .Catholic  Univ.,  Wash.,  D.  C. 
Rev.  E.  T.  Shanahan,  D.D.  .Catholic  Univ.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Rev.  John  W.  Shaw Rector  of  Cathedral,  Mobile,  Ala. 

Rev.  Joseph  A.  Shee Cedar  Point,  Hamilton,  Ohio 

Rev.  Edwin  Sinnott 142  East  29th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  James  P.  Sinnott 902  S.  20th  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rev.Wm.  J.  Sinnott,  D.D..460  Madison  Ave.,  New  York  City 
Rev.  Charles  A.  Smith.  .552  So.  Orange  Ave.,  So.  Orange,  N.J. 

Rev.  Geo.  Smith 1347  Meridian  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Very  Rev.  J.  Spensley,  D.D.  .Catholic  Univ.,  Washington,  D.  G. 

Rev.  M.  J.  Splaine,  D.D 75  Union  Park  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Rt.  Rev.  J.  A.  Stafford St.  Patrick's,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

Rev.  Jacob  F.  Staub 378  Hudson  Ave.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Michael  Steines,  D.D 514  Seymour  St.,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Louis  R.  Stickney 408  N.  Charles  St.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Rev.  Bernard  S.  Stolte 1519  Chestnut  St.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Rev.  C.  J.  Sullivan,  D.C.L 75  Union  Park  St.,  Boston 

Rev.  David  G.  Supple,  D.D 2  Fellsway,  East,  Maiden,  Mass. 

Rev.  J.  A.  Supple,  D.D..  .31  Buckingham  St.,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Rev.  P.  J.  Supple 31  Buckingham  St.,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Rev.  Walter  F,  Sweeney. .  .St.  Paul's  Rectory,  Hingham,  Mass. 

Rev.  James  J.  Talbot 230  East  90th  St.,  New  York  City 


538   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Rev.  E.  M.  Tearney West  End,  Va. 

Rev.  William  Temple,  D.D.  .Fourth  &  Jackson  Sts., 

Wilmington,  Del. 
Rev.  J.  Anthony  TePas...l800  Lakeside  Ave.,  Cleveland,  Ohio 

Rev.  Edward  J.  Tierney 207  West  96th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  Michael  J.  Tighe 221  West  107th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  David  J.  Toomey,  D.D.  .75  Union  Park  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 
Rev.  John  J.  Toomey..  134  E.  Mt.  Airy  Ave.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Rev.  Henry  P.  Tracy,  D.D. . .  .142  East  29th  St.,  New  York  City 
Rev.  John  F.  Turner,  D.D. . .  .503  East  14th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  Patrick  Turner Sacred  Heart  Church,  Pensacola,  Fla. 

Rev.  Wm.  Turner,  D.D.  .Catholic  University,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Rev.  John  J.  Twomey 122  East  118th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  Ernest  Van  Dyke..  St.  Aloysius  Rectory,  Detroit,  Mich. 
Rev.  James  Veale,  D.D.  .Mandarin  Settlement,  Dewal  Co.,  Fla. 
Rev.  James  Veit 138  Second  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  Francis  H.  Wall,  D.D.  .444  East  119th  St.,  New  York  City 

Rev.  James  M.  Walsh Denver,  Colo. 

Rev.  N.  R.  Walsh P.  O.  Box  1093,  Beverly  Farms,  Mass. 

Rev.  Thomas  J.  Walsh..  1108  N.  Jefferson  Ave.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Rev.  J.  A.  Whitaker..4625  Springfield  Ave.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Rev.  William  J.  White,  D.D..98  Richards  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  J.  A.  M.  Wilson Sagamon  Co.,  Pawnee,  111. 

Rev.  Ed.  J.  Wirth,  D.D. .  .St.  Bernard's  Sem.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Rev.  E.  L.  Wolfstyn.  .St.  Joseph's  Rectory,  Monroe  Co., 

Erie,   Mich. 

Rev.  H.  J.  Zimmer..St.  Mary's  Hospital,  Queens  Bor., 

Jamaica,  N.  Y. 


The  Alumni  Association  539 

NECROLOGY 

Most  Rev.  Michael  A.  Corrigan,  D.D New  York 

Rt.  Rev.  F.  Z.  Rooker,  D.D Jaro,  P.  I. 

Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Daniel  J.  Quigley Charleston 

Rt.  Rev.  Ignatius  F.  Horstmann,  D.D Cleveland 

Rt.  Rev.  Patrick  J.  Garvey,  D.D Philadelphia 

Very  Rev.  William  Salt Newark 

Very  Rev.  A.  Harnest,  V.G Louisville 

Rev.  Charles  P.  O'Connor Philadelphia 

"     Joseph  Maher New  York 

"     William  H.  Deasy Boston 

"     John  McElhinny,  D.D New  York 

"     James  Corrigan Newark 

"     Charles  M.  O'Keefe,  D.D New  York 

«     John  Duffy,  D.D New  York 

"      Francis  Campbell Columbus 

"     Patrick  Hennessy Newark 

"      Michael  Holland Newark 

"     John  M.  Curley New  York 

"      Daniel  A.  Murray Mobile 

"      Henry  H.  Conboy Providence 

"     Edward  J.  Conroy New  York 

«      Bernard  J.  Duffy New  York 

"     William  E.  Bartlett Baltimore 

"     John  J.  Sheahan Buffalo 

«     Terence  W.  Dolan Hartford 

"     Patrick  F.  Smith Albany 

«     James  Nilan New  York 

"     W.  M.  Carroll Louisville 

«     John  F.  Ford Boston 

"     Thomas  F.  McManus New  York 

"     John  J.  Grant Buffalo 

"     John  J.  McQuaide Fall  River 

«      Nathan  J.  Mooney Chicago 

"      F.  X.  DuTTON Cincinnati 

«     John  H.  May,  D.D St.  Louis 

«      Patrick  E.  Reardon New  York 

"     Christopher  Hughes,  D.D Providence 

«     Albert  M.  Nodler Davenport 

"     John  S.  Kiernan,  Ph.D Newark 

"     Charles  B.  Guendling Fort  Wayne 

«     Dan.  F.  X.  OToole Newark 

Rt.  Rev.  Abbot  Smith,  O.S.B Rome 

Rt.  Rev.  George  H.  Doane,  P. A Newark 

Rev.  Torquato  Armellini,  S. J Rome 

R.  I.  P. 


LIST  OF  CONTRIBUTORS 

Rome,  December  8,  1909. 
Dear  Doctor  Brann:  I  thank  you  most 
cordially  for  granting  me  the  opportunity  of 
inscribing  in  the  published  annals  of  our  dear 
Alma  Mater  the  names  of  the  benefactors  who 
in  1903  so  generously  responded  to  my  appeals 
for  funds  to  pay  for  the  new  addition  to  the 
College,  the  Palazzo  Tomba. 

We  owe  them  a  heavy  debt  of  gratitude, 
which  we  can  discharge  only  by  keeping  them 
constantly  in  our  thoughts  as  we  certainly  do 
in  our  prayers. 

I  am,  very  faithfully  yours  in  Dno, 
^Thomas  F.  Kennedy, 

Tit.  Bishop  of  Adrianople, 
Rector. 

Mrs.    Burns,   Atlanta,   Ga $5,000.00 

Mr.  George  Ehret,  New  York,  N.  Y 5,000.00 

Mr.  John  C.  Reilly,  Pittsburg,  Pa 5,000.00 

Bexefactor,    Rye,    N.    Y 4,000.00 

Mr.  Leopold  Vilsack,  Pittsburg,  Pa 3,000 .  00 

Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  M.  A.  Burke,  D.D.,  Albany,  N.  Y.  1,000.00 

Mr.  James  Butler,  New  York,  N.  Y 1,000.00 

Mr.  Samuel  J.  Castner,  Philadelphia,  Pa 1,000.00 

Hon.  W.  Bourke  Cockran,  New  York,  N.  Y 1,000.00 

Marquis  Martin  Maloney,  Philadelphia,  Pa 1,000.00 

Mr.  John  McGlynn,  Philadelphia,  Pa 1,000.00 

540 


List  of  Contributors  541 


Mb.  Joseph  Sinkott,  Philadelphia,  Pa $1,000.00 

Most  Rev.  John  J.  Williams,  D.D.,  Boston,  Mass.  1,000.00 

Mr.  Daniel  O'Day,  New  York,  N.  Y 550.00 

Most  Rev.  Patrick  J.  Ryan,  D.D.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  500 . 00 

Most  Rev.  John  J.  Keane,  D.D.,  Dubuque,  la 500.00 

Rt.  Rev.  John  E.  FitzMaurice,  D.D.,  Erie,  Pa..  500.00 

Rt.  Rev.  Matthew  Harkins,D.D.,  Providence, R.I.  500.00 

Mr.  a.  Antello,  Philadelphia,  Pa 500.00 

Sir  John  D.  Crimmins,  New  York,  N.  Y 500.00 

Mr.  Peter  Doelger,  New  York,  N.  Y 500.00 

Mr.  John  R.  DosPasos,  New  York,  N.  Y 500.00 

Mr.  Bernard  Farren,  Philadelphia,  Pa 500.00 

Hon.  Wm.  F.  Harrity,  Philadelphia,  Pa 500.00 

Mr.  John  B.  Hasslocher,  New  York,  N.  Y 500.00 

Mr.  Peter  F.  Kernan,  Philadelphia,  Pa 500.00 

Mr.  William  E.  Lant,  Lancaster,  Pa 500.00 

Mr.  John  M.  Mack,  Philadelphia,  Pa 500.00 

Mr.  Michael  Murphy,  Philadelphia,  Pa 500.00 

Mr.  Willis  E.  McCook,  Pittsburg,  Pa 500.00 

Messrs.  Jerebiiah  J.,  James  E.,  and  John  Sulli- 
van, Philadelphia,  Pa 500.00 

Mr.  Anthony  Kaul,  St.  Mary's,  Pa 300.00 

Mr.  William  Loeffler,  Pittsburg,  Pa 300.00 

Mr.  Anton  Lutz,  Pittsburg,  Pa 300.00 

Mr.  John  McNulty,  Pittsburg,  Pa 300.00 

Hon.  Henry  Burke,  Philadelphia,  Pa 250.00 

Mr.  Edward  J.  Dougherty,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y 250.00 

Mr.  Daniel  Eagan,  W.  Philadelphia,  Pa 250.00 

Mr.  Jules  Junker,  Philadelphia,  Pa 250.00 

Rt.  Rev.  J.F.  Richard  Phelan,D.D.,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  250.00 

Rt.  Rev.  John  W.  Shanahan,  D.D.,  Harrisburg,  Pa.  250 .  00 

Mrs.  Boyle,  Philadelphia,  Pa 200.00 

Rt.    Rev.   Edmund    F.    Prendergast,   D.D.,   V.G., 

Philadelphia,  Pa 200.00 

Mrs.  Mary  Frauenheim,  Pittsburg,  Pa 200.00 

Rev.  Matthew  A.  Taylor,  New  York,  N.  Y 200.00 

Mr.  Edward  J.  Vilsack,  Pittsburg,  Pa 200 .  00 

Rt.  Rev.  J.  Regis  Canevin,  Pittsburg,  Pa 100.00 

Mrs.  Burke,  Philadelphia,  Pa 100.00 


542    History  of  the  American  College.Rome 

Mr.  Berxard  Burke,  New  York,  N.  Y $100.00 

Dr.  Charles  Davis,  Philadelphia,  Pa 100.00 

Mr.  J.  M.  Doyle,  Philadelphia,  Pa 100.00 

Mr.  Stephen  Farrelly,  New  York,  N.  Y 100.00 

Rt.  Rev.  James  E.  FitzMaurice,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  100.00 

Miss  Rose  Frauexheim,  Pittsburg,  Pa 100.00 

Mr.  a.  a.  Frauexheim,  Pittsburg,  Pa 100.00 

Mr.  Patrick  Gallagher,  Berwyn,  Pa 100.00 

Mr.  Gloxiger,  Pittsburg,  Pa 100.00 

Rev.  Matthew  A.  Haxd,  Philadelphia,  Pa 100.00 

Mr.  Thomas  Lyxch,  Pittsburg,  Pa 100.00 

Mr.  Simox  Martix,  Philadelphia,  Pa 100.00 

Rev.  Joseph  McCullough,  Philadelphia,  Pa 100.00 

Mr.  Michael  O'Rourke,  Philadelphia,  Pa 100.00 

Mr.  James  Ryax,  Philadelphia,  Pa 1 00 .  00 

Mr.  James  Trace y,  Conshohocken,  Pa 100.00 

Mr.  Fraxcis  J.  Crilly,  Philadelphia,  Pa 50.00 

Mr.  Ralph  F.  Cullixax,  Philadelphia,  Pa 50.00 

Mr.  C.  a.  Fagax,  Pittsburg,  Pa 50 .  00 

Mr.  Johx  Farrell,  Pittsburg,  Pa 50.00 

Mrs.  Catherixe  Frauexheim,  Pittsburg,  Pa 50.00 

Mr.  James  J.  Gillix,  Philadelphia,  Pa 50.00 

Mr.  Kilxer,  Philadelphia,  Pa 50.00 

Mrs.  Laxaoax,  Pittsburg,  Pa 50.00 

Mr.  F.  McDoxough,  Philadelphia,  Pa 50.00 

Mr.  Powers,  Cathedral,  Philadelphia,  Pa 50.00 

Rev.  Thomas  Sullivax,  Philadelphia,  Pa 50.00 

Rev.  Fraxcis  X.  Wastl,  Philadelphia,  Pa 50 .00 

Mr.  Johx  J.  Ward,  Philadelphia,  Pa 50.00 

Mr.  Peter  Dooxer,  Philadelphia,  Pa 25 .  00 

Mr.  Igx atius  J.  Dohax,  Philadelphia,  Pa 25 .  00 

Mr.  Cosgrove,  Braddock,  Pa 25.00 

Mr.  Axthoxy  Hirst,  Philadelphia,  Pa 25.00 

Rev.  James  P.  McCloskey,  Philadelphia,  Pa 25.00 

Mr.  Edward  McMoxigle,  Philadelphia,  Pa 25.00 

Mr.  CocKCROFT  Thomas,  Philadelphia,  Pa 25.00 

Small  donations,  amounting  in  all  to 625.00 

$46,000.00 


List  of  Con  trihutors  543 


THE  NAMES  AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  ALUMNI 

TO    THE    FUND    FOR    THE    ACQUISITION 

OF  THE   PALAZZO  TOMBA 

Rt.   Rev.  William  G.  McCloskey,  D.D.,  Louisville  $1,250.00 

Most  Rev.  M.  A.  Corrigan,  D.D.,  New  York 1,000.00 

Most  Rev.  Johx  M.  Farley,  D.D.,  New  York 1,000.00 

Rt.  Rev.  Bernard  J.  McQuaid,  D.D.,  Rochester 1,000.00 

Rt.  Rev.  Charles  E.  McDonnell,  D.D.,  Brooklyn. .  1,000.00 

Rt.  Rev.Wm.  H.  O'Connell,  D.D.,  Portland 1,000.00 

Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  F.  Kennedy,  D.D.,  Rome,  Rector  1,000.00 

Very  Rev.  John  P.  Farrelly,  D.D.,  Nashville 1,000.00 

Rev.  James  P.  Sinnott,  Philadelphia 1,000 .  00 

Alumnus    1,000.00 

Rev.  John  W.  McMahon,  D.D.,  Boston 750.00 

Most  Rev.  P.  W.  Riordan,  D.D.,  San  Francisco 500.00 

Rt.  Rev.  Ignatius  F.  Horstmann,  D.D.,  Cleveland. .  500.00 

Rt.  Rev.  John  J.  O'Connor,  Newark 500.00 

Rt.  Rev.  Maurice  F.  Burke,  D.D.,  St.  Joseph 500.00 

Rt.  Rev.  Michael  J.  Hoban,  D.D.,  Scranton 500.00 

Very  Rev.  Patrick  J.  Garvey,  D.D.,  Philadelphia. .  500.00 

Rev.  Francis  P.  FitzMaurice,  Philadelphia 500.00 

Rev.  William    Kiernan,   D.D.,   Philadelphia 500.00 

Rev.  Henry  A.  Brann,  D.D.,  New  York 500.00 

Rev.  Thomas  F.  McManus,  New  York 500.00 

Rev.  William  Maher,  D.D.,  Hartford 500.00 

Rev.  Thomas  J.  Shahan,  D.D.,  Hartford 500.00 

Rev.  Edward  J.  McGolrick,  Brooklyn 


:1 


Rev.  Hugh  P.  Gallagher,  S.J.,  San  Francisco.        '' 

Rev.  Jeremiah  E.  Millerick,  Boston '.  500.00 

Rt.  Rev.  Henry  J.  Richter,  D.D.,  Grand  Rapids..  250.00 

Rev.  August  J.  Schulte,  Philadelphia 250.00 

Rev.  Nevin  F.  Fisher,  Philadelphia 250.00 

Rev.  James  F.  Crowley,  Brooklyn 250 .  00 

Rev.  John  J.  McQuaide,  Providence 200.00 

Rev.  Edmond  W.  Cronin,  New  York 200.00 

Rev.  Edward  J.  Hanna,  D.D.,  Rochester 200.00 

Rev.  Patrick  E.  McGee,  Providence 200.00 


544   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Rev.  Thomas  J.  McGee,  D.D.,  Providence $200.00 

Rev.  Francis  H.  Wall,  D.D.,  New  York 200.00 

Rev.  William  T.   Russell,  Baltimore 110.00 

Rt.  Rev.  Benjamin  J.  Kkiley,  D.D.,  Savannah 100.00 

Rt.  Rev.  Henry  Moeller,  D.D.,  Columbus 100.00 

Rt.  Rev.  George  H.  Doane,  P.A.,  Newark 100.00 

Rt.  Rev.  F.  Z.  Rooker,  D.D.,  Albany 100.00 

Rt.  Rev.  Denis  J.  Dougherty,  D.D.,  Philadelphia..  100.00 

Rt.  Rev.  John  A.  Stafford,  Newark 100.00 

Rev.  John  F.  Hickey,  Cincinnati 100 . 00 

Rev.  George  A.  Lyons,  Boston 100.00 

Rev.  Patrick  Farrell,  D.D.,  Cleveland 100.00 

Rev.  Denis  J.  Driscoll,  New  York 100.00 

Rev.  Thomas  S.  Duhigg,  Brooklyn 100.00 

Rev.  John   B.  MacGinley,  D.D.,   Philadelphia 100.00 

Rev.  John  J.  Toomey,  Philadelphia 100.00 

Rev.  Charles  A.  S:mith,  Newark 100.00 

Rev.  Hubert  J.  Behr,  D.D.,  Newark 100.00 

Rev.  James  P.  Donovan,  D.D.,  Hartford 100.00 

Rev.  John  E.  Burke,  New  York 100.00 

Rev.  James  N.  Connolly,  New  York 100.00 

Rev.  Thomas  P.  McLoughlin,  New  York 100.00 

Rev.  Daniel  J.  Curley,  New  York 100. 00 

Rev.  Edward  J.  Tierney,  New  York 100.00 

Rev.  Joseph  E.  Delany,  D.D.,  New  York 100.00 

Rev.  Thomas  J.  Lynch,  New  York 100.00 

Rev.  William  G.  Murphy,  New  York 100 .  00 

Rev.  Edmund  T.  Shanahan,  D.D.,  Boston 100.00 

Rev.  Patrick  Coleman,  Boston 100 .  00 

Rev.  Thomas  F.  Lynch,  Brooklyn 100.00 

Rev.  Maurice  P.  Fitzgerald,  Brooklyn 100.00 

Rev.  John  W.  Spensley,  D.D.,  Albany 100.00 

Rev.  Ernest  Van  Dyke,  Detroit 100.00 

Rev.  Andrew  B.  Meehan,  D.D.,  Rochester 100.00 

Rev.  William  J.  Guinan,  D.D.,  New  York 100.00 

Rev.  William  J.  White,  D.D.,  Brooklyn 100.00 

Rev.  Daniel  C.  Cunnion,  New  York 100.00 

Rev.  Patrick  J.  Mahoney,  D.D.,  New  York 100.00 


List  of  Contributors  545 

Rev.  F.  X.  Dolan,  D.D.,  Boston $100.00 

Rev.  James  McGeveran,  Philadelphia 100.00 

Rev.  Edmund  F.  Gibbons,  Buffalo 100.00 

Rev.  John   J.   Duffy,   Philadelphia 100.00 

Rev.  J.  A.  Te  Pas,  Cleveland 100.00 

Rev.  George  F.  Murphy,  D.D.,  Cleveland 100.00 

Rev.  Edward  Keough,  D.D.,  Chicago 100.00 

Rev.  M.  J.   Nolan,  D.D.,  Rochester 75.00 

Rt.  Rev.  D.  J.  Quigley,  V.G 50.00 

Rev.  P.  C.  Gavin,  Baltimore 50.00 

Rev.  Thomas  F.  Monahan,  Newark 50.00 

Rev.  Thomas  J.  Walsh,  St.  Louis 50 .  00 

Rev.  Owen  B.  Corrigan,  Baltimore 50.00 

Rev.  Patrick  J.  Lennon,  New  York 50.00 

*Rev,  James  Nilan,  New  York 50.00 

Rev.  Denis  L.  Gleason,  D.D.,  Hartford 50.00 

Rev.  Robert  F.  Fitzgerald,  D.D.,  Hartford 50.00 

Rev.  John  J.  McLoughlin,  D.D.,  Hartford 50.00 

Rev,  John  L.  O'Toole,  Brooklyn 50.00 

*Rev.  Charles  B.  Guendling,  Fort  Wayne 50.00 

Rev.  John  H.  Guendling,  Fort  Wayne 50.00 

Rev.  William  Temple,  D.D.,  Wilmington 50 .  00 

Rev.  John  J.  Mahon,  Brooklyn 50.00 

Rev.  William  J.  Sinnott,  D.D.,  New  York 50.00 

Rev.  W.  a.  Plamondon,  Burlington 50 .  00 

Rev.  John  A.   Ferry,  Brooklyn 50.00 

Rev.  William  C.  Poole,  New  York 50.00 

Rev.  Thomas  C.  O'Reilly,  D.D.,  Cleveland 50.00 

Rev.  Joseph  Pohlschneider,  Cincinnati 50.00 

Rev.  Felix  O'Neill,  Newark 50.00 

Rev.  Joseph    Joos,    Detroit 25 .  00 

Rev.  John  A.  Cummiskey,  Winona 25.00 

Rev.  John  F.  Schoenhoeft,  D.D.,  Cincinnati 25.00 

Rev.  James  J.  Higgins,  D.D.,  Brooklyn 25.00 

Rev.  James  P.  O'Brien,  New  York 25.00 

Rev.  John  J.  O'Brien,  New  York 25.00 

Rev.  Alexander  F.  Mercer,  St.  Louis 25.00 

Rev.  John  A.  Schmitt,  Grand  Rapids 25.00 


546   History  of  the  American  College, Rome 

Rev.  Patrick  J.  O'Le art,  Hartford $25 .  00 

Rev.  John  W.  Shaw,  Mobile 25.00 

Rev.  Michael  J.  Riordan,  Baltimore 25.00 

Rev.  Johx  B.  Pleuss,  D.D.,  St.  Louis 20.00 

Rev.  Patrick  F.  Horan,  D.D.,  Little  Rock 20.00 

Rev.  W.  Gaston  Payne,  Richmond 10,00 

Rev.  George  W.  Dougherty,  Baltimore 10.00 

Total   subscription $26,020.00 

•Deceased. 


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List  of  Students  547 


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